Will I Ever Love Again?
by Mrs. Jess Cullen
Summary: Bella runs away from her abusive step father Phil. She can only hope that her father and brother will be willing to take her in. AH Rated M for mature. Contains rape and abuse scenes.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've begun working on a new story and I wanted to at least give you guys the first chapter to see what you think. This chapter and some of the other chapters does contain a rather graphic rape scene so for the faint of heart or those who do not like reading these kinds of stories, I do not recommend starting this one. I hope that you enjoy this one and please feel free to critique anything you see fit.

Also, this story has characters that may not be as exactly like Stephanie Meyer wrote them. I've taken the names and used them but I am also shaping them into my own versions to an extent. One last thing as well, this story is going to be all human. I felt like a change of no vampires might be nice. So please read and enjoy!

~Jess

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_**Chapter 1**_

"Phil…please no…please stop." I was begging him to stop this torture. It was more than I had ever had to handle before and I was having a hard time stifling my screams. He backhanded my cheek making me whimper even more in pain. I could smell the familiar rusty smell as a thin line of blood trickled down my cheek. Phil was in one of his drunken rages again and it seemed as if now he was simply going too far.

"Shut up you little bitch! I'll stop when I'm good and ready to stop!" He grabbed my hair and roughly pulled me closer to him, crashing his lips down on my own. I feebly attempted to push him off of me.

Phil was a lot of things but never had I thought him as a rapist; he had never allowed himself to go that far before. I panicked even more and my arms began to flail wildly through the air in what I figured was an attempt to push him away. He grasped my tiny wrists in one of his large hands and held them down as he continued to plunder my mouth with his tongue. I could already feel the bile rising up in my throat as he continued to assault me in the worst way possible. His mouth began trailing down my neck as his other hand ripped my thin t-shirt to shreds. Before I knew what was happening, Phil had me down on the bed with my hands above my head.

"I knew these would come in handy one day." He held a glimmering pair of handcuffs in his hand and began to twirl them around. "You're going to be a good little bitch for me right. I can't wait to break you in." He slurred into my ear as he cuffed my wrists to the top of the bed. I could feel the hot tears pour down my face as he straddled my waist. "I'm going to enjoy this so much." He ripped my bra from me and roughly grasped one of my breasts in his calloused hand. I faintly heard him moaning but my sobs drowned most of them out. He leaned his mouth down and bit down hard. I screamed out loudly as I felt him draw blood from my tender skin.

"Please Phil…please don't do this." I attempted to beg him one last time. He slapped my face again hard as he leaned his mouth down to my ear. He ran his tongue along the lobe and I felt myself shudder in disgust. He took that as a much different sign and laughed to himself.

"Does my little whore like that?" He ran his tongue over the lobe again before sucking it into his mouth. His hands were back to roughly handling my breasts as he whispered in my ear. "When I'm done with you, no one in this world is going to want someone as broken and disgusting as you." With that statement he pulled my shorts down and roughly tore the fabric of my panties off. I tried to tightly keep my legs together but he managed to pry them apart and separate them with his knees. He slid his filthy and grimy hand down my stomach until he reached what he wanted. I sobbed harder because I knew what was coming.

This was not how my first time was supposed to be like. I was supposed to be sharing this with someone whom I loved very deeply, someone whom I loved more than this world. I wasn't supposed to be here handcuffed to a bed as my stepfather brutally raped me. I was brought out of my thoughts as he roughly shoved a finger inside of me moaning as he began to pump it. "You like that bitch?" I let more tears escape my eyes as he slapped me again. "Just wait until I fill you up with me." He abruptly stood up from the bed and hastily pulled his pants and boxers down before climbing back on top of me. He crashed his lips down on mine again. "You ready for daddy bitch?" He stroked my face roughly pulling my hair when I didn't respond fast enough. "Well, if you're going to be that way then I won't be as gentle as I was going to be." With those last words he broke through the thin barrier that held the last of my innocence. He didn't even wait for me to adjust to him as he set his own rough and hard rhythm. I felt a warm liquid trailing down my leg and I just began to cry harder.

Phil continued to use me several times and soon after he had finished he got up and left. Somewhere during the fourth or fifth time he had uncuffed me from the bed because he wanted to do other things that could not be done with me handcuffed. I felt disgusting and used. I knew I was damaged before but now I was just beyond filthy. Any chance of happiness I had went with this. I brought my knees, however painfully, to my chest and sobbed myself to sleep.

* * *

When I awoke in the morning, I couldn't move any muscle in my body. It was already six in the morning and I desperately needed to get to school. I willed myself to work through the screaming protests of my body to make my way into the bathroom. The reflection in the mirror disgusted me. I was covered in bruises from head to toe. My right eye was swollen shut and my lip was puffy from the numerous slaps Phil had given me last night. I sighed and pulled my shirt up noticing the odd deformity that was now my ribs. Phil usually managed to bruise a couple ribs and it wasn't uncommon for him to succeed in breaking a few. I sighed painfully and pulled my shirt gently over my head before stepping into the shower.

My injuries were not going to be easy to hide. I was running low on cover up and the swelling in my face had no chance of going down before I got to school. In the state I was in, I decided to not go to school today and instead focus on icing as many parts of my body as I could. There was one pain I knew that I would never be able to ice and that was the burning and throbbing I felt down there. Phil had been extremely rough and if I didn't know any better I think there might be some tearing that would need work by a trained medical professional. That was care that I was never going to receive and who knows what kind of long-term effects it could lead to.

I wish my mom were here. She would know how to make this better for me. I wish that my dad, Charlie, wanted me. If he did, I wouldn't be in this situation right now. If Charlie wanted me to come live with him, maybe I would still be innocent Bella. If Charlie actually wanted me maybe I wouldn't be as worthless as I am right now. And what about Emmett? Did he even know about me anymore? We were so young when we separated. I bet Charlie never even told him I existed. Why would he want to?

I had a general idea of where my father and brother lived. I knew that it was only an hour or so away from here. Maybe if I just showed up at Charlie's door, he'd take pity on me and take me in. I could only hope that if I was actually able to escape the clutches of my demon stepfather that my own father would take in his flesh and blood regardless of how dirty and broken I am. It was a shot I was willing to take; what else did I have to live for? I continued to lie in my bed as I iced my injuries. This plan was going to take a lot of formulating on my part and I would need to find a way to either fight back enough against Phil or distract him enough with something that he wouldn't even notice I had fled.

I had carefully plotted an escape plan that would take some time to carry out. By the time I was finished it was almost time for Phil to return home from whatever escapade he had been on today. I raced down the stairs as carefully as possible and pulled out something quick and easy to heat up for his dinner. The smell of the delicious food assaulted my senses and I felt my stomach churn loudly in hunger. I hadn't eaten in almost a week. Phil told me I needed to lose somewhere around 20 pounds and had promptly forbade me to satiate my hunger door swung open loudly and I heard Phil's loud footsteps make their way towards the kitchen. He slammed himself down in the chair and greedily began shoving food into his disgusting mouth. He looked up at me while he chewed, rather unpleasantly, and stared.

"Aw, is the poor little bitch hungry?" He shoved another forkful of the meat into his mouth and laughed cynically. My stomach decided to betray me and grumbled loudly after he had asked his question. "Well too bad slut, because only people who are worth something deserve food. Maybe this way you will just starve to death and I won't have to do anything about your sorry little ass anymore." He had finished that last of the food and stood up from the table. "I want this mess cleaned up and then your ass better be upstairs waiting for me." I felt the panic overwhelm me; he couldn't possibly want to do anymore to me. I shakily cleaned the table and washed the dishes before hesitantly making my way upstairs too my room.

When I opened the door, Phil was standing there rubbing himself through his own pants. He smiled the most disgusting smile at me and motioned the bed. I was unable to bring my feet to move and before I knew what was happening Phil had me by the hair and was dragging me to the bed where he roughly threw me down.

"Please Phil, not again!" I screamed out and immediately regretted it. He backhanded my already bruised face and tore off my shirt moaning as he began to grope at my bony body.  
"You're going to enjoy this baby girl." He whispered into my ear as he again began to take advantage of me. I could not find the strength to fight back against him. Even just the action of crying took so much of the energy that I did not have. I could not stay here any longer. I would not be able to put up with the abuse anymore. I couldn't let myself die here. My plan was going to have to happen a lot sooner than I planned but that was okay with me. When Phil had finally passed out cold on top of me from the alcohol he had consumed earlier that day, I carefully slid myself out from under him. I didn't have to worry about him regaining consciousness anytime soon; he normally would be knocked out for ten or more hours after he had a drinking spree.

I quietly packed a few things into a bag and made my way downstairs and out into the night. I felt no remorse for leaving whatsoever. I used to think it would be so difficult to leave because of the memories of my mother that this house held. I realize now that my mom would want me to live and the only way I could do that would be to leave this wretched place and start anew. Even if Charlie didn't want me I would at least be out of the hellhole that has been my life. With that final thought, I began the long journey down the road to Forks, Washington where I knew my father and brother resided. It wouldn't be hard to find them; the hard part would be convincing them to let me stay with them.


	2. Chapter 2

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_**Chapter 2**_

I wasn't quite sure how long I had been on this road. I knew that it had been quite a while already and me being me, I forgot that it was in the middle of winter. I was shivering and had lost feeling in my nose and fingers. Part of me wanted to just turn myself around and start to head back however far it was I had walked and return to Phil but the majority of me was screaming to go on. I knew that this journey was going to be tough but I figured it would be worth it. As if things could not be bad enough as they were, a steady stream of rain began to fall.

"What have I done God? Why must you hate me like this?" I had never been a big believer in God, at least not since Phil started his abuse. I've always heard this crap of how we are never given more than we can handle but I feel like the situation I've been put in is definitely more than I can handle. I continued to walk shivering even more because of the drenched state I had become.  
It took a few more minutes but I finally crossed into the town of Forks. I felt my tears mix with the steady rain as I continued to walk down the all too familiar roads. My body had a mind of it's own as it started walking down one street before turning onto another. It wasn't long before I was staring up at the tiny white house where mom and me used to reside. I felt as if not one thing was out of place but I couldn't be sure. I only recognized what I saw because of the pictures that mom had given me several years ago. My shivering body brought me out of my trance and I made my way to the front.

"What if they don't want me? What am I doing here? Of course they're not going to want me, I'd just be a burden to them." I was muttering to myself as my hand poised itself in front of the doorframe. My tears were mixing with the freezing water dripping down my head. I lightly knocked on the front door but no response came. "Of course you idiot, it's like 9 in the morning no one's home probably." I sat down on the porch stoop and continued to let the rain soak through my clothes. I felt absolutely exhausted and there was no way I was going to make it any farther than here. Before long I felt myself curl up into a ball as the rain continued to drench me and drift off into a very restless sleep.

I awoke to someone shaking me harshly. Startled at the contact I flew up from my position on the ground and backed into the corner by the door. It was dark and I could not make out more than the shadow of the person standing in front of me. The way my luck had been going I was probably about to be kidnapped by some sick psycho.

"Who are you?" The deep voice called out to me as he took a step closer. If it was even possible, I backed further into the corner and felt the tears begin to make their way down my cheeks again. I felt my stomach revolt against me before I was suddenly bent over dry heaving in fear. The strange man stumbled back at my sudden reaction. "Miss, are you okay? How long have you been outside?" I couldn't understand why this strange man was asking me questions as I continued to dry heave on the ground. My stomach felt like it was on fire and it wasn't too long that I found myself crumbling too the ground in front of the stranger.

"Edward!" He called. I heard another set of footsteps come up the stairs. "I don't know what's wrong with her. She just collapsed…what do we do?" I whimpered in even more pain and I felt myself begin to shiver even more.

"We need to get her to Carlisle. She doesn't look good at all." I heard the most beautiful voice I had ever heard in my life. It was so soft and silky. I felt like I was being laced in satiny sheets when he spoke. Suddenly, two arms gently picked me up and that set me over the edge.

"Please don't hurt me. Please, I beg you don't hurt me. I can't take it anymore." My voice suddenly came back as it pleaded with the two strangers.

"Bella?" How did this man know my name? I cowered in fear again and weakly struggled to get on my own two feet but my captor held me tightly to his chest. "Bella is that you?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked him quietly barely above a whisper. The strange man placed me into the back seat of a car as the other man got into the drivers seat and took off down the road.

"Is that really you Bella?" It sounded like this stranger was crying or at least wanting to cry. I couldn't put my finger on it but this voice sounded oddly familiar. "Bella, it's me, Emmett; you're big brother." He turned around and grasped my tiny frail hand in his own giving it a gentle squeeze. "We're going to get you help Bella, just hang in there okay." I could only nod my head. The strange man who had rescued me was Emmett? My big brother? He remembered me! I felt partially elated as the realization hit me.

"Emmett, it hurts so much." My whole body was in so much pain. I felt myself shaking hard against Emmett's rock solid form. I wasn't sure what was wrong but I knew something was definitely not right.

"Emmett we're here. You get her out of the car and I'll have the nurses page Carlisle to meet us." The other man quickly ran from the car and into the sliding doors. Emmett opened my door and delicately scooped me out of the car.

"You're going to be okay Bella, just please hang on." Emmet whispered into my hair as he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. The blinding lights from the hospital caused me to turn and bury my head into Emmett's massive chest. I was laid onto a gurney and wheeled into a room where nurses began cutting off various parts of my clothing. A blonde haired doctor came into the room holding what looked to be very minimal paperwork.

"Bella? Can you hear me?" He picked up my tiny wrist and held two fingers feeling for the pulse. I nodded my head to acknowledge that I could in fact hear him. "What happened to you? Can you remember?" I opened my mouth to speak but Carlisle held up his hand. I immediately shut my mouth and braced myself for the incoming pain but it never came. Carlisle had a very pensive look marring his beautiful features. "Actually, let's just get you fixed up here and we can talk later." He flashed me a rather beautiful smile as he began to stitch me back up. The doctors and nurses continued to work around me but nothing registered in my brain. I slowly felt my consciousness leaving me and I fell into the darkness.

* * *

When I awoke later that night, I was alone in a room. I heard a faint beeping noise and all of the memories had come back. Just as I realized where I was, a young looking nurse walked into my room and began checking different monitors and the IV bag that was hanging by my bedside. Just as she was finishing up Dr. Cullen entered my room.

"Could you please give Bella and I a moment to speak in private? If I need any assistance I will be sure to call you. Thank you." The nurse that had previously been checking my monitor quickly made her way from the room. I felt the panic set in at what this man could do to me. The tears began to pour out of my eyes and I felt my body begin to convulse in sobs. "Bella, I'm not going to hurt you. Would you like me to get Emmett, he is dying to know what happened to you." I nodded my head shakily at him. He returned just as quickly as he left with a nail biting Emmett in tow.  
"Bella, are you okay? Carlisle is she going to be okay?" Emmett was panicking as he sat down beside me and grasped my frail hand in his large one.

"She's going to tell us what happened to her and I figured it'd be easier for her to get out all at once. He pulled a couple more blankets down from the cabinet above my bed and tightly wrapped them around my form. "Go ahead Bella, we're listening. Everything is going to be alright, you are safe here." I nodded my head and looked up at Emmett.

"I…I ran away from my stepfather Phil because he's been abusing me ever since our mom died. I just couldn't take it anymore. I know it was wrong of me to run away like that but I don't know how much longer I would've lasted if I had stayed. I'm so sorry Emmett, I didn't know where else to go and I just figured that maybe you and dad might want me. I'm so sorry." I felt myself lose it as the dam of tears broke and I sobbed even more.

"That bastard. How could he do that to you!?" Emmett abruptly stood up from the chair releasing his hold on my hand. He began pacing around the room while running his hands through his very short hair. "Why didn't you tell us Bella? We could've gotten you out of there years ago. Dad and I thought that you were so happy there. You never called. We never heard from you." Emmett had tears streaming down his face as he sat back down next to me.

"Bella, I'm going to need to do an exam on you just to see how badly you are hurt. Is that okay with you?" I simply nodded my head at him too afraid of talking. "Emmett you should call your father. He'll want to be here." Emmett too nodded before whipping out his cell phone and quickly dialing a number.

"Dad…you need to get to the hospital right away." Emmet told him. "It's not me dad, I'm fine, it's…it's Bella. I would've called you sooner but I was too worried to think about it. Please just come down here. I'll explain everything when you get here. Just hurry." Emmett quickly hung up the phone and sat down next to me.

"Bella, do you want Emmett to stay? He doesn't have to be in the room if you don't want him." I shook my head fiercely despite the protests my body was sending me.  
"I want him to stay. Please, I need you." My voice sounded so quiet, so pitiful. He just smiled at me and nodded.

"Okay Bella, I'm just going to visually inspect your body, just tell me if anything hurts or feels at all uncomfortable." He began inspecting my arms and my neck discovering the numerous bruises that Phil had littered over my body. He made his way to my legs and made note of the handprints on my inner thighs. "Bella, I know this is hard but did Phil ever sexually abuse you?" I looked to Emmett whose face was one of pure rage.

"Yes." I whispered not daring to say anything else. Carlisle nodded and jotted another note down on the chart.

"I'm going to have to do a rape examination kit. How old are you Bella?" Carlisle asked looking at me inquisitively.

"She's almost 18, just a few months short." I looked at Emmett shocked. He actually remembered my birthday? How could he, we were so young. He noticed my baffled expression and quickly answered my mental question. "I told you Bella, Dad and I have been so worried about you. Every moment we could, we were thinking about you." I just nodded my head and looked to Carlisle. As he was about to say something, a very worried and flustered Charlie burst through the door startling me.

"Bella!" He exclaimed rather loudly and ran over to the other side of the bed before grasping me in a much too tight hug. "I… why haven't you called? You're all grown up!" Amidst his appraisal of my grown up form, he noticed the striking blue and black that covered my body as well as the dried tears that lurked on my face. "Who did this to you sweetie?" He gasped in shocked as he ran his hand delicately along my split lip and swollen cheek. "Give me a name and I'll kill them." His eyes had gone almost black with rage and I felt myself cower away from him in fear.

"Please don't hurt me…please." I managed to whimper out. I saw tears collect in his eyes as he brought me into a delicate hug.

"Oh I've missed my baby girl so much. I'm so elated to have you back here with me; you really have no idea. I've been so worried about you." He embraced me once more before turning to Carlisle. "How bad is she Dr. Cullen? She's going to recover from everything right?"

"Charlie, calm down, it'll be alright. Bella was just telling us how she got all of her injuries before she walked in." He looked down at my broken form in front of him "Do you want to tell him or would you rather I explain it to him?" He asked me.

"I think I can tell him Dr. Cullen." I got that nervous feeling back in the pit of my stomach. I looked over at my worried father and took a deep breath wincing as the pain in my ribs increased. "Dad…please don't be mad at me. Phil…he's been…abusing me and I had to get away. I didn't know where else to go but I was afraid to stay there. Please don't send me back there, he'll kill me, he will." I was full out begging him to let me stay here with him. I noticed his face darken even more if it were possible. "I'm so sorry daddy, I didn't mean to make you upset." I turned my head into the pillow and began to sob quietly to myself. I felt fingers gently lift my chin from its position on the pillow.

"Bella, honey, never in a million years would I send you away. I love you so much and I wish I knew about this sooner. I could've helped you. I'm just so glad that you're safe now." Charlie looked at me with shiny eyes. He was going to cry; I had never seen my dad cry. That wasn't counting the fact that I hadn't seen my dad in a few years but still, dads didn't cry. "We're going to get that sick bastard. I promise you that."

"Daddy…he didn't just hit me…he…he…he raped me too dad." I mumbled out and I immediately saw Charlie's face fall.

"It's going to be okay sweetie, we're going to get through this, I promise you that. You don't have to worry about a thing." He hugged me to himself again as he looked at Carlisle.

"Charlie, I'm going to need your signature to perform a rape kit on Bella." Charlie nodded his head against my hair and moved to sign the paperwork Carlisle was holding out for him. "Okay Bella, we're going to get this started so you can rest. I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

Carlisle had finally finished up his exam and after a painful hour of poking and prodding I was finally able to just sit back and relax in bed for once in my life. I was enjoying the quiet that had fallen in my room when Emmett decided to speak up.

"Bella, I know that now might not be the best time, but there is someone who is really wanting to meet you. He's been texting me non-stop since we've gotten here. Would you mind? He was with me when we found you earlier on the porch." I suddenly remember that beautiful silky voice I had heard when we were outside back at the house and I nodded my head a little too eagerly.

"Edward, you can come in." Emmett spoke in the phone he had near his ear. About a minute later, the door creaked open and in walked in the most beautiful looking man I had ever seen in my life.

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A/N: Thanks to those of you who have already read through the first chapter. I am debating rewriting this chapter partly because it did not quite turn out how I had planned it too but if you guys like the way it's going I'll keep it. Please review the story and let me know what you think. I don't know how many of you write but hearing the feedback whether good or bad can really influence the creative juices. Thanks again to all the readers and I will be sure to update soon if you guys want me to continue.

~Jess


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3 (Charlie's point of view)**_

I hung up the phone and jumped from my desk rushing quickly towards my cruiser. What was Bella doing here in Forks? Why didn't she call me to let me know she was here? Why was she in the hospital? The last question that crossed my mind made me push my foot down harder onto the accelerator and speed up. I've missed my baby girl so much but I never got a chance to express that. Renee told me that she wanted nothing to do with Emmett or me. Part of me told myself to believe that was not true while the other half told me to respect Bella's wishes. I went with the latter of my decisions.

I hadn't seen Bella since she was 5 years old. Would I even recognize her? I should be able to, I mean Emmett was able to recognize her and he probably doesn't remember much about her. I pulled into a parking space and dashed into the hospital.

"Isabella Swan, what room is she in?" the nurse at the desk stared at me in shock for a moment before quickly punching some buttons on the computer.

"She's up in 405, the elevator is on the left down that hall." She pointed me down a hallway and I tapped on the up button until I heard the familiar beep. The next 2 minutes seemed to pass in slow motion as I ran through the hallway searching for the room. My eyes finally found it and I sprinted down the hall before bursting through the door.

There on the bed laid my frail and fragile looking baby girl. She looked so grown up yet so haunted at the same time. "Bella!" I exclaimed as I hurried to her bedside and embraced her in a tight hug. "I… why haven't you called? You're all grown up!" It took me a second to realize that my little girl was covered in black and blue splotches. They were all over her body. "Who did this to you sweetie?" I ran my hand lightly over her battered face wanting to know who had harmed my sweet and innocent daughter. "Give me a name and I'll kill them." I felt the protective fatherly instincts take over my body as I gazed upon my battered daughter.

"Please don't hurt me…please." Her pleading brought me out of the rage filled stance I had taken. I instantly soften when I realized my baby girl thought I was going to hit her. I could never do that to her.

"Oh I've missed my baby girl so much. I'm so elated to have you back here with me; you really have no idea. I've been so worried about you." I hugged her tightly once more trying with all of my willpower to remain gentle with her. "How bad is she Dr. Cullen? She's going to recover from everything right?"

"Charlie, calm down, it'll be alright. Bella was just telling us how she got all of her injuries before she walked in." He looked down at Bella's body before continuing. "Do you want to tell him or would you rather I explain it to him?" I needed to know what happened to her ten minutes ago, I wished they would just come out with it.

"I think I can tell him Dr. Cullen." She sounded so broken; it broke my heart to pieces to hear my little girl speak in such a frightful voice. She inhaled deeply and winced at the pain. "Dad…please don't be mad at me. Phil…he's been…abusing me and I had to get away. I didn't know where else to go but I was afraid to stay there. Please don't send me back there, he'll kill me, he will" How could that slimy scumbag of a man do this to my daughter! I trusted him with her life and safety and he goes and beats her like this. If I got my hands on him I was going to kill him. I looked down shocked at Bella for a moment before I realize she thought I was mad at her. If only she knew what was going through my head right now. "I'm so sorry daddy, I didn't mean to make you." She turned and buried her face in the pillow sobbing quietly to herself. I lifted my hand gently to her chin to turn her face towards me.

"Bella, honey, never in a million years would I send you away. I love you so much and I wish I knew about this sooner. I could've helped you. I'm just so glad that you're safe now." I felt the tears brimming in my eyes as I took in my daughters face. She was still so beautiful even with all of the bruises. "We're going to get that sick bastard. I promise you that."

"Daddy…he didn't just hit me…he…he…he raped me too dad." This bastard did what to my daughter!? I almost didn't believe what she said for a moment. This kind of stuff doesn't happen to families in real life, this is the kind of stuff that I work to prevent and it was happening to my own family. I embraced her tightly to myself whispering soothing words in her ear. I didn't know if I was attempting to calm her down or if I was saying it for my own good.

"It's going to be okay sweetie, we're going to get through this, I promise you that. You don't have to worry about a thing." I hugged her once more brushing her hair off of her face before turning to Carlisle.

"Charlie, I'm going to need your signature to perform a rape kit on Bella." I just nodded my head at him while I continued to rock Bella back and forth against my chest. He handed me some papers to sign which I quickly did.. "Okay Bella, we're going to get this started so you can rest. I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

Carlisle had finally finished what he was doing with Bella. I had to step out in the middle of the procedure both to calm down and to also get my boys down at the station going. A few minutes later Carlisle came out and waited for me to finish on the phone.

"Charlie, the extent of the damage done to Bella is very severe. I'm surprised she's not in more pain than she is now. It's going to take a lot of therapy and help from everyone around her to help her heal entirely." I nodded at him not trusting my voice to speak right now.

"I know that mentally she's going to need time but how about physically, how bad are we talking about there?" I wanted to know just how badly my daughter had been physically hurt.

"Well, she has two broken ribs but they'll heal in time, her wrist was mildly sprained and that too will heal on it's own accord. I'm going to be observing her for any signs of a concussion during the night. She's severely underweight but we will begin to correct that immediately." He took a deep breath before continuing with his assessments. "I know that this is going to be hard to hear but there was also some severe vaginal tearing from the rape. It will heal with time as well but we won't know the long-term effects of any of the damage for a while. She's going to be just fine physically and with time she will heal mentally as well. My family is here for you for anything you need." He patted my shoulder lightly leaving me to my own thoughts.

I thought before I was mad at Phil but now that I know just how badly he hurt my daughter I felt more than enraged. I felt like I needed to go after him now and just rip him to shreds. I'm not normally a violent person in fact; I'm normally the one to not condone any sort of violent ways of giving justice where justice is due. Right now though, I was feeling just the opposite. Phil was going to pay…big time.

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A/N: Thank you so much to all of you who have added me to your favorite story or story alert lists. That really means a lot and it was nice to get a flood of emails telling me that you guys had added me to those lists. Also, a big shout out to the two people who reviewed my story. You guys rock! I'm sorry that this is such a short chapter. Classes have just started up again and it's not easy being a computer engineer at OC. I'll continue to update though as I can and I hope that you guys enjoy this next segment.

~Jess

P.S- If you live in the United States, tune into The Today Show on September 12 and hear about what my school is doing to help out the efforts of a group called Wishing Well. It's an exciting event for my school and it will also make viewers more aware of the water crisis going on in third world countries.


	4. Chapter 4

_**C**__**hapter 4 (Bella's point of view)**_

I stared at the gloriously beautiful Greek god standing before. His emerald eyes were glistening with what I thought looked to be worry and fear. He ran his hands through his hair messing it up making it even more beautiful than before. I felt my heart skip a beat as I continued to drool over this man.

"Hello Bella, my name is Edward. I'm Carlisle's son Emmett's best friend." He slowly walked over to my bedside and stood next to Emmett. I continued to stare not trusting my voice just yet.

"I'm Bella." I said stupidly. I could already feel the flush start to rise in my cheeks. Emmett was looking dumbfounded at Edward and me. Charlie chose that moment to walk back into the room and come to my side again. Edward smiled a crooked grin at me and I felt my cheeks get hotter if it was even possible.

"Hey Edward, thank you so much for helping Emmett with everything and make sure Bella was safe. I really do appreciate it." My dad pulled a chair up to my bed and sat down taking my tiny hands in his and rubbing it soothingly.

"It was no problem Chief Swan. You guys are family and we would do anything to help you. I'm just glad that we got to her when we did, who knows how much longer she would've lasted outside." He smiled down at me gently while he also pulled up a chair and sat down.

"How are you feeling, munchkin?" My dad asked me. I felt three pairs of eyes boring into my face and the flush that had begun to die down suddenly rose back up again.

"I'm okay dad. Really, when can I go home? I don't like being in hospitals." I looked at him pleadingly, begging him to just get me out of here.

"Carlisle will try and get you out of here as soon as possible. He's thinking about maybe moving you to his house instead of just keeping you here. At least that way he can watch over you more and you don't have to feel as confined." Charlie smiled at me. That would be fantastic if I could get out of this hospital.

"That would be great dad, really. I'm really tired. You guys should go home and sleep. You don't need to stay here, honestly." I felt my eyelids begin to droop and sleep was starting to overtake me.

"We'll be right by your side honey. You just sleep and focus on healing up." My dad kissed my forehead gently and sat back down in his chair.

"Don't worry Bells, we've got your back. You go to sleep and we'll be here when you wake up." Emmett too kissed my forehead before plopping himself down in the chair. It wasn't long before I felt myself succumb to the darkness.

* * *

When I awoke the sun was gleaming brightly through my hospital window. I heard faint snoring and turned to see Emmett and my dad sprawled out on two hospital cots in my room. There was a third cot also but no one was occupying it. My heart started to race as I thought about Edward. Had he stayed through the night too? Why was I going so crazy over this one boy? I was pulled out of my train of thought when my door quietly creaked open and in walked none other than Edward Cullen. He smiled at me when he noticed I was awake and came and sat down by my bed.

"How are you feeling Bella?" His voice was smooth silky velvet and I reveled in the feel of it.

"I feel okay I guess, well, as okay as someone in my situation can feel." I grinned slightly up at him and felt my heart beat faster as I stared into his emerald eyes.

"Are you hungry? I can have the nurses bring you something to eat. It won't be the best but at least it's something you know?" Just as he finished phrasing his question at me, my stomach let out a tiny grumble. I heard him chuckled to himself and felt the heat rise to my cheeks.

"I guess I am a little hungry. I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep it down though." I was embarrassed by the fact that even just eating food was going to be a difficult task for me. I looked way from him feeling the tears well up in my eyes as I thought back to the memories.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. We're going to help you through this. It may be difficult at first but eventually you're going to be all right. I promise you that." He gently brushed away the single tear that had fallen. "I'll go get you something to eat." He smiled at me one last time before exiting the room quietly. I looked over at my sleeping father and brother. They've been so accepting of me, I'm not quite sure why but they have been. I was grateful that Charlie hadn't lost his temper like Phil would have. Speaking of Phil, I realized the one flaw in my plan. What if he came after me? He would kill me if he found me for running away. I could feel the panic begin to rise and my heart rate began to speed up. I was taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down when Dr. Cullen walked in.

"How are you feeling right now Bella? Do you need me to give you some pain medicine?" I just shook my head weakly at him. I was feeling somewhat dizzy right now but the pain was the least of my worries.

"I've been through worse." I croaked out. Carlisle's face fell at that statement and before he could say another word, Edward came through the door carrying a tray of steaming food.

"I thought it might be a good thing if Bella tried to eat something dad." Edward stated to his father as he gently placed the tray of food in my lap.

"I think that is an excellent idea but Bella do take it easy, your body will need to readjust to the intake of food." He looked at me worriedly, only giving me a small smile. "If you need me to give you any anti-nausea medication just call for me. I'm going to work on getting your paperwork together so we can move you to my house." He quickly exited the room leaving me and Edward and my sleeping family.

"Don't be afraid to try Bella. You'll adjust to it soon enough. You need to eat though." He grasped my hand in his giving it a light squeeze. I smiled a small smile at him before picking up the fork in my bony hand. I took a tiny nibble of the scrambled eggs on the plate and savored as the warm food made it's way down my esophagus. I continued to take small forkfuls of the scrambled eggs and I nibbled a bit on the toast. I stopped myself when I felt the unfamiliar full feeling come over me and lay back in the bed. I looked at them all who were still standing in various places around the room. It didn't take long before I felt the nauseous feeling overpower me and I immediately jumped up and dashed for the bathroom. I barely managed to make it to the toilet before spilling the contents of my stomach. I felt a cold cloth being wiped across my forehead and my hair being pulled back out of my face. I looked up embarrassed to find Edward staring down worriedly at me.

"I told you, I'm going to be here for you no matter what. It's okay, just let it all out." He continued to soothe me by wiping the cloth across my sweat-coated forehead. He started to rub small circles on my lower back in an attempt to calm my shaking body. The very touch of his hand was sending electric currents through my body and I shuddered slightly. "Do you think I could move you back to the room? You need to rest." Edward asked me calmly.

"I think that it should be okay. Thank you." I weakly attempted to pull myself up into a standing position but Edward would have none of it as he gently scooped me up in his solid arms and carried me back to bed. He tucked the blankets around me tightly and pulled the chair up next to the bed before laying his head down on his arms. I noticed that both my dad and brother had left as well as the rest of Edwards family.

"Where is everyone?" I asked him timidly looking around. I trusted Edward and I felt oddly comfortable with him but the idea of being alone in a room with a man was still slightly unnerving for me even if it was Edward.

"Charlie and Emmett needed to go home and clean up. Your father also had some business to attend to. They'll be back soon. As for my family, I think they're running around this hospital causing who knows what kind of chaos." He flashed me a beautifully crooked smile. "You need to rest up. We'll have you better in no time. Please, don't worry about anything, just focus on healing." He moved to leave the room to let me sleep but I quickly shot my hand out amidst the blankets clasping his large hand in my own.

"Please… stay." I sounded so pitiful but the nightmares I knew that would come would only be worse if I didn't have someone to cling onto in my state of fright. He smiled warmly at me and nodded before placing himself back in the chair he had scooted nearer to my bed. He grasped my hand in his and rubbed small and relaxing circles on the back of my hand.

"Sleep now Bella, I'll be here for as long as you want me." He whispered quietly before beginning to hum my beautiful lullaby.

"Good night Edward." Was the last thing I remember saying before slipping into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

A/N: This chapter I'm going to admit now is not that great. I wrote about half of it a week ago and did not finish it until right now so there's a huge change in writing and I think it's pretty obvious. I'm so sorry about this chapter and everything. School has gotten a bit chaotic and being an engineer/pre-med major isn't helping anything at all. Also, if you're into religion and prayer, I'm taking my MCAT's in a couple weeks and I could definitely use some prayers because this test is going to almost make or break everything basically. Thank you to all of you who have recently added me to your story alert lists, it means a lot and has definitely made me want to update more.

As soon as I get another update available I will post it on here. Thanks again to everyone who is keeping up with this story, I'm sorry if it's not turning out to be what you wanted it to be. Please if you can review the story just so I know how everyone is taking to it.

~Jess


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

"Well Bella, I'm just going to get your father to sign these discharge papers and then Edward will be more than happy to drive you to our house. Esme and Alice have already designed a room with you in mind that you are more than welcome to call home whenever you need to." Carlisle unhooked the last IV from my arm setting me free from the confines of the room I had been trapped in for almost a week now.

"Edward won't mind having to take time to drive me to your house? If you just give me the address I can take a cab, really, it's no problem." I moved to lift myself off the bed and pack the rest of my stuff when Carlisle gently pushed me back down into a sitting position.

"Listen Bella, I know that you have not known me for a very long time, in fact, I am a total stranger to you right now. However, that does not change the fact that your dad and your brother are like family to me and you are a part of that family. We do whatever it takes to protect our family. " He patted my hand gently before resuming whatever he was doing. "I'll leave you to change into the clothes that Alice brought over to you. I apologize ahead of time if it's something that you are not used to; Alice likes to dress people and can sometimes go a little overboard. Charlie and I will be right outside if you need us." I nodded my head at him and grabbed the bag from his outstretched hand.

"Thank you so much Dr. Cullen for everything." I quietly said to him.

"Please Bella, call me Carlisle, no need for formalities." He gave me a small smile and turned to exit the room. I opened the bag expecting to find clothing that I would dread wearing but instead I found what looked to be a comfy pair of over sized sweatpants as well as a long sleeve t-shirt and sweatshirt.

When I walked into the bathroom to change I wanted to gag at my reflection. My hair was matted down to my head and my eyes had dark circles around them making my face appear even more gauntly than it was. There was a purplish handprint marring most of the left side of my face and I winced when I went to lightly run my fingers over it. If any normal person saw me right now they'd run away screaming to their mommy. Sighing in defeat I pulled on the comfy clothes and reveled in the warmth they provided before stepping out into the room again. Charlie and Carlisle both had reentered and were standing by the bed quietly discussing something between the two of them.

"How are you feeling Bella?" Charlie walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders lightly. I flinched at the contact at first before I was able to completely comprehend that it was my father who was just trying to be fatherly towards me. "I'm sorry Bella, I didn't even think about the physical contact." He quickly dropped his arm back down to his side.

"Please dad, it's okay…I'm fine, really." I smiled weakly at him.

"Bells, you don't need to hold the strong face that you've been keeping. Let whatever you are feeling out."

"I know daddy, I'm trying to." I whispered quietly not wanting to be anger him. Before we had a chance to discuss any further Edward walked into the room rolling a wheel chair. He was even more beautiful than I remembered with his tousled golden hair and his wonderfully gorgeous green eyes.

"Hella Bella, Chief Swan." He nodded his head in our direction before wheeling the chair to the side of the room. "I'm ready whenever you are Bella, take your time."

"Okay Bella, I don't want to leave you alone right now but I do need to get to the station and sort a few things out. If you need me do not hesitate to call me I can be at the Cullen's house in the drop of a hat." I nodded my head gently. I was already beginning to feel the dizziness take over me and my knees weaken. "Bella, are you alright sweetie?" Charlie looked at me worriedly. I once again nodded my head giving him a small grimace of a smile.

"Here Bella come sit down in the wheel chair and I'll get the rest of your things together." Edward held his hand out for me to grab instead of grabbing me himself. I reached out and clasped his hand in mine allowing him to lead me to the chair.

"Take some deep breaths Bella, you are probably just very weak right now and standing up and moving around for as long as you did was more than your body could take. You are going to need to take it very easy for the next couple of days your body has been through a lot." Carlisle came over and checked my pulse before turning to Edward.

"Once you get her home either have her stay on the couch or in her bed. Keep her movement as little as possible at least for tonight. I don't want to have to bring her back here." Carlisle said to him in a hushed voice. "Now Bella, lets get you home and settled so you can relax and heal." Edward grabbed the small backpack that held whatever items I had in my room and started to wheel the chair out to the exit. Carlisle and Charlie were following close behind. As we reached the sliding doors of the exit we headed outside to Edward parked car. I inhaled a lungful of the brisk Forks, WA air.

"It's so good to be outside again." I mumbled incoherently to myself. I heard a small chuckle from behind me but let it go.

"I will see you at home in a couple hours, my shift is almost done." Carlisle helped get me into the front seat of Edward's car.

"Emmett and I will be over at the Cullen's sometime before dinner tonight. He has a big practice for the game that he can't miss as much as he wants to. Stay safe and call for anything, please." He kissed me on the forehead before closing my door and standing back next to Carlisle. Edward hurried his way around to the other side starting the car and peeling out of the hospital parking lot.

* * *

I didn't even realize I had dozed off until I felt Edward lightly nudging me awake. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and yawned.

"We're here Bella. I'll get your bag and come around to help you out, just sit tight." He flashed me his toothy grin before rushing from his side of the car over toward mine. He helped me out of my seat holding me closely to his side. "Don't need to overstress anything more than it already is." He claimed as he flashed me that million-dollar smile of his.

"Thank you Edward." I quietly trailed next to him as he guided me up the stairs and through the large glass doors. What I saw before me amazed me entirely. The house we had just stepped into was absolutely beautiful. The entire back wall of the family room was a huge glass wall allowing you a beautiful view of the luscious green background. "Edward your house seems as if it belongs in 'Home and Garden' magazine or something." I delicately ran my hand along the dark oak railing.

"Esme loves interior design. It's what she does in her spare time so anytime we get a new house she wants to start from scratch and decorate it all herself. Everything that you see here was designed by her." I stared in wonder at the intricate details of the room. "Come I'll show you to where your room is." Edward lightly grabbed my arm before leading me up the grand staircase. He led me down a hall to two doors that were across from each other.

"That door across from you is mine and Charlie and Emmett's rooms are down the hall." He was pointing in the direction he was speaking before opening the door in front of us. I was greeted with a beautiful sight. Esme had painted the walls a soft blue color that complimented the dark wood furniture that filled the room. On the bed was a creamy white bedspread that too went well with the pale blue color.

"Edward, you guys have really outdone yourselves. You don't even know me."

"You are part of this family now too Bella, don't think anything other than that. We help family no matter what." He set my bag down on the dresser and guided me over to the fluffy bed. "Do you want to stay up here or would you like to come down to the living room?"

"Can I stay downstairs? I feel like I'd be more of a pain up here."

"Bella, you could never be a pain." I felt the blush creeping up into my cheeks. He flashed me his beautiful smile again before helping me down the staircase and onto the extremely comfortable couch.

"Do you want to watch a movie? We've got all day." Edward asked me.

"That would be nice." I curled up into a ball hugging my legs to my body tightly. Edward was gentleman enough to cover me with a huge blanket and tuck in the edges. He popped in a movie and sat down next to me on the couch pulling my head into his lap to lie down.

"Just relax Bella, you're safe here. No one can hurt you now." He pushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear and continued to stroke my hair gently. The comfort was a change but it was one that I could learn to welcome. For the next two hours only our laughter filled the house. Edward made me feel so at peace with everything, there was something about how he could comfort me that I didn't quite understand but I wasn't about to start questioning it.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" The question came out before I even had a chance to process how uncomfortable it could make the situation.

"Why wouldn't I be nice to you Bella? You deserve to be treated well." He attempted to reassure me.

"How could want to even touch me Edward? I'm broken. I'm used. I'm…I'm dirty." I spat the word out with disgust. Phil had taken away everything from me. I had nothing more to give to anyone. I could feel the tears threatening to spill over and I tried as hard as I could to keep them at bay. Edward held his arms out to me not wanting to startle me with his touch. I leaned in hesitantly to his embrace before relaxing completely and allowing the tears to fall. "He took it all away from me. He hurt me in ways I didn't think I could be hurt. I'm broken Edward. How could anyone want to even look at me anymore?" I was sobbing by this point.

"Bella, you are NOT broken. Don't ever let that monster make you feel that way. He can never take away what you were not willing to give. There are so many people who already love you so much even if you can't believe that yet. We're here for you no matter what. I'm not the best person to be talking to about this but I do think you need to talk to someone. After everything you have been through, getting through the emotional complexity of situations like this is a long and difficult process." He hugged me closer to his body as I sobbed even harder. "You are not broken Bella. You are beautiful, you are gracious, you are caring, and you are amazing. I know I haven't known you very long but I can already tell that much just from being around you." His kind words made my tears flow faster and I continued to soak his shirt.

"I'm sorry I've just ruined your shirt. I don't know what came over me." I hastily wiped the tears from my face while readjusting my position on the couch so my back sat straighter and most of the traces of my distress could no longer be seen.

"Bella, you don't need to be the strong one right now. It's okay to break down and let it all out; in fact, it's healthy to do that. We are all here to listen to you whenever you need it. You've been through so much." He turned my face gently to his. Before I could control what I was doing a very obvious grimace crossed my face and Edward immediately dropped his hand. "I'm so sorry Bella. I didn't mean to scare you." He said just barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry Edward, it's my fault." I scooted to the corner of the couch and curled up my knees to my chest. It was still pretty painful but this position had become such a comfort to me that I dealt with the pain.

"Are you hungry Bella? We should get you something to eat." Edward stood up and gestured for me to follow him, which I obediently did. The kitchen did not fail to impress me as I stepped through the entryway. Edward began to peruse the cabinets looking for something quick and easy to fix as a snack. It had been so long since I had eaten anything real, I wasn't quite sure how I was going to handle it. Edward must have known that eating was another task on my list because he pulled down the simplest thing he could find.

"Tomato soup or chicken noodle?" He held a can in each hand and gave me a questioning looking. I went to reach for the tomato when he quickly lifted his hands high out of my reach. "You go sit down at the table, I'll bring it to you." I must have had a priceless look on my face because Edward pushed me towards the table gently and chuckled to himself.

No longer than 10 minutes later Edward was placing two steaming bowls of tomato soup on the table along with a plate of crackers. I was not used to this concept of being served by someone. We sat in silence for a few more minutes before Edward decided to play 20 questions with me.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked.

"It kind of just changes from day to day. I guess right now it would have to be green." I blushed as I thought of my reasoning behind that and tried to hide the dreamy smile that was threatening to cross my face. Edward must have either not noticed or kept his curiosity to himself because he moved on to the next question.

"What kind of music do you like to listen to?"

"I dabble in everything. My mom used to always play Clair de Lune when I was younger and it's kind of stuck with me through then. What about you?"

"You like Debussy?" He had a bewildered look on his face that was quickly overtaken by a huge genuine grin. I nodded my head amused at his reaction. We continued on like that for another hour before the rest of the family began to make its way home.

* * *

A/N: So I apologize (like I did in my other fanfiction) for the delay in updates but school has been a little crazy lately. I've finally found some time to write out some chapters and hopefully my updates will begin to become more regular now. Thank you to all of the readers who have most recently added me to either an alert or favorite list. It really means a lot and also a shoutout goes out to all of those people who have reviewed the story since the last post. I've loved all of your reviews and I'm grateful for the fact I have received nothing but positive feedback from all of you. Again, I apologize for the lack of updates but hopefully that will change soon enough. Thank you so much for sticking with me so far and I hope that I can continue to please you with this story. Also, like always anything you have to say even if it's just a simple "I love it." or even "This story sucks." would be appreciated at least I know that I am provoking some sort of emotional response from you guys.

Thanks,

Jess


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I felt like Edward and I had been talking for forever when the family finally started to trickle back home a few hours later. Carlisle was the first one back and he immediately questioned me over how I was feeling and if anything was hurting.

"Sorry that I'm back so late guys, we had a motor vehicle accident come in at the last minute. I think that's the first accident that we've had since I've gotten here. How are you feeling Bella? Has anything been hurting since I discharged you?" Carlisle gave me a once over checking to see that everything was okay. As he was asking this question I felt my stomach revolt against me as my lunch fought its way back up. I could literally feel my face pale as I sprinted to the kitchen sink and heaved up the contents of my stomach. It wasn't long before everything had been dispelled and I turned around before sinking to the floor and burying my head in my legs.

"I'm so sorry you had to witness that." My voice came out raspy and Edward handed me a glass of cool water to help ease the burning of the acid in my throat.

"It's okay Bella, we've both seen much worse before." Edward assured me as he wiped a damp cloth across my forehead.

"Unfortunately Bella, I think that was just the beginning for you. You haven't had any real form of nutrition lately and your body almost doesn't know what to do with food anymore. It'll take some time before that eventually settles out but it will get better." Carlisle offered me two small pills that would hopefully suppress some of the nausea I was feeling.

"Let's get you upstairs and you can get some rest." Edward offered his outstretched hand towards me and helped to pull me up into a standing position. I wobbled shakily as my head began to spin. "Bella would it be alright if I carried you upstairs? I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore." Edward cautiously asked me as he gauged my reaction. I nodded my head in no condition to argue. I attempted to push any negative reactions and shut my eyes tight as Edward gently set his hands on my shoulders before giving them a light squeeze and moving to sweep me off my feet…literally. I felt Edwards hand go beneath my knees and before I knew what was happening I was sent into a vivid flashback of Phil's grimy hand roaming over my innocent body. I felt myself begin to flail against Edwards's body screaming bloody murder at him to put me down.

My subconscious knew that it was Edward holding me and that he would never harm me but my mind could not suppress the fear that coursed through my body when Edwards's hands wrapped around my legs. It was like reliving the nightmare all over again. When I was finally set on the floor I curled up into a protective ball willing the feel of Phil's hands off of me.

"Bella, please calm down! Everything is okay, no one is going to hurt you." Edward knelt in front of me attempting to calm me down but I flinched away at his touch.

"Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I began to rock back and forth with my knees clutched painfully to my chest. Everything that Edward was saying was registering in some part of my brain but I just wasn't processing it like a normal human being. All I saw was Phil's hands touching me; groping me. I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he licked and bit at me. Anything that Edward said to me was in Phil's voice and not Edward's beautiful and musical voice. I cowered away when I saw his hand reach for me slowly. After a few more minutes of the full on panic attack I experienced, my vision cleared slightly and I felt myself become even dizzier. All of this crying was doing no good when it came to healing. My body had relaxed enough to lie down on the cool tile beneath me. My skin felt as if someone had suddenly set a fire to it as I lay down. I sighed at the temporary relief that the tile had given to my burning skin. I felt a familiar touch on my face that did not entirely register in my foggy brain. There was too much going on around me and I was too exhausted to deal with it. My mind was vaguely registering the voices around me.

"Carlisle, she's burning up." That velvety smooth voice I had grown to adore in such a short amount of time spoke.

"This is what I was hoping would hit her in the hospital. With the amount of time she spent out in the rain, I wouldn't be surprised if she came down with a case of pneumonia." I felt another hand brush across my heated skin. "See if you can pick her up now and get her to her bed. I'll start her on some intravenous antibiotics." Two arms gently wrapped themselves around me but I hadn't the energy to try and fight them off this time. I was carefully pressed against the chest of someone who smelt so enticingly heavenly. Before I could register what was happening the beautiful scent left my nose as I was laid down in a bed and covered with the soft blanket. There was a brief stinging pain in my hand and before I knew what was happening darkness overtook my entire body.

* * *

_Phil's hands were all over my body as he roamed my pale white skin with his grimy filthy hands. He landed a hard blow to my stomach when the tears began to fall from my eyes. _

"_You are going to enjoy this bitch!" He slapped my face to one side before grasping it roughly between his fingers. "Open wide for daddy!" He chanted as he took his large member and shoved it into my mouth pushing every bit of him in. I struggled beneath him willing him to fall off of me, anything. He viciously began to move in and out of my mouth moaning in his own passion as the tears continued to stream down my face. I shut my eyes tightly not wanting to be witness to what was happening anymore than I already was. _

_Phil roughly pulled from mouth and gave me another good slapping as I gasped for the breath I so desperately needed. He wasn't done yet though as he cradled me in his arms and threw me down onto the floor roughly. My head connected with the solid wood underneath me and I felt my vision cloud for a second. Phil slapped me around some more before once again grasping my tear stained face in his filthy hand. _

"_A bitch like you does not deserve to be screwed on a bed. You deserve to be screwed on the floor, where a whore belongs." He spread my legs apart roughly before shoving two of his greasy fingers into my core. He began to pump them, roughly scratching at my g-spot with his fingernails. I cried out in pain against my will as he inserted a third finger. _

"_Please Phil! Please stop!" I screamed out again wanting desperately for this torture to stop. I suddenly heard that silky voice that had calmed me down before. It was calling out for me. Before I knew what was happening Edward walked into the room and pushed Phil off of me roughly before shaking me gently._

_

* * *

_My eyes flew open only to be met with the worried green pools that were Edward's eyes. I let the dam of tears break as I sobbed yet again into Edward's chest. He held me while I cried and rubbed soothing circles on my back. After a few minutes my sobs quieted down a bit but I still continued to cling to Edward.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know if you'd be able to handle it." I told him looking up into his worried green eyes. He gave me a small smile in reassurance.

"Don't worry about me Bella, get out what you need to get out. I'm here to listen to whatever you need to say." Part of me wanted to explain the events of the past to Edward but another part of me couldn't bring myself to relive what I had gone through.

"I don't think I can handle it right now Edward. It's just all too much." I felt a few more tears trickle their way down my cheeks and Edward held me tighter to his chest. "Are my dad and Emmett home?"

"Yeah, everyone's asleep though." He told me gently his voice just barely above a whisper.

"What time is it?" I took that opportunity to look out the window and noticed that it was pitch black. How long had I been asleep for?

"It's almost 3:30 in the morning. I heard you sleep talking and thrashing around so I came here to see what was wrong and that's when I woke you up." He relaxed his grip a little on me.

"I am so sorry for waking you up Edward. I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry." I felt the heat in my cheeks and tried to buy my head in my chest so he wouldn't be able to see my bright red cheeks. He brushed his hand against my forehead and once again his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"You're still burning up Bella. I need to get Carlisle so he can try to give you some more medicine." Edward moved to stand up but I held him tighter.

"Please don't leave me Edward. I don't want to be alone." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he contemplated what to do.

"I really need to get Carlisle, we can't let your fever get any higher than it already is. You just lie back in bed and I'll run up the stairs and get Carlisle quickly. I'll be back before you know it. I can get Emmett if you want?" He suggested.

"No, please don't wake up anymore people than necessary. I don't want them to get mad." I curled up into a ball under the blankets holding my knees tightly to my body. Edward stroked my hair and tucked the covers around me tighter.

"I'll be back before you even realize I'm gone." I chuckled at his antics as he bowed out of the room and dashed up the stairs. I laid back in the bed and groaned in agony as the extent of my fever finally hit me as well as the pounding in my head and the awful pain in my chest. Throughout my episode I hadn't even realized how crappy I was feeling. Edward was dashing back into my room soon after I had made myself more comfortable in the duvet.

"Carlisle is coming down he just needed to get some supplies first." I looked at him warily as he sat down next to me on the bed. Almost as soon as he had stretched himself out next to me on the bed Carlisle came in dressed in his pajamas. Despite the crappy feeling I was experiencing I couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle at Carlisle's attire.

"I'm sorry that he had to wake you up Dr. Cull….I mean Carlisle. I feel okay, really." I managed to strangle out in a raspy voice.

"Let me be the judge of that Bella." He set the items he was carrying in his arms on the nightstand beside me before sitting himself down on the bed next to me and taking my pulse. He shook his a head a little and grabbed the thermometer off the nightstand before inserting it into my mouth.

"Bella if your fever doesn't break soon I'm afraid I might be needing to take you back to the hospital. You're at 103.2 right now and if it starts to climb any higher, we're going." He put the thermometer back on the nightstand before turning towards me again. "I'm going to start an IV on you no just to get some more fluid into your system and so I can administer another round of antibiotics." He wiped the cold alcohol swab on my hand and made quick work of inserting the needle. After he had finished he attached the bag to the bed and set it onto the speed of drip he deemed okay.

"Edward, if anything happens just come and get me." Carlisle gave us both one last look before turning and exiting the room. Edward moved to get up as well when I turned to him suddenly.

"Please, don't leave. I don't want the nightmares to come back." I whispered as I looked at him grabbing his hand in my own. Edward had a rather shocked look on his face when I grabbed his hand in my own.

"Are you sure? I can go and get Emmett." Edward made another move to go to the door.

"I don't want to wake him up." He nodded his head and climbed back into the bed being sure to give me as much space as I needed.

"Good night Bella." Was the last thing I remember hearing before drifting off into unconsciousness.

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A/N: Thanks again to all of you who have added me to some sort of favorite or alert list and a big shout out to those who gave me a review! All of that means so much! Thanks as usual for sticking with the story. Hopefully I'll be able to update as often as every day now that things are sort of calming down a bit. I hope you enjoy this new chapter I'm posting and please review if you can, it really does mean a lot to me. Also, I took my MCAT's on Saturday and I get my scores back this week so let's hope that I did well. Thanks!

~Jess


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7 (Edward's Point of View)**_

I was hesitant to comply with Bella's request for me to stay with her that night but after she gave me that pitiful puppy look I couldn't help but say yes. I climbed back into bed and stretched out enough so that I was comfortable but also so that Bella would have her own space. I was trying to avoid another breakdown like she had in the kitchen earlier.

"Good night Bella." I whispered to her. She didn't say anything back but when I listened closely I heard her even breathing telling me she was asleep. I stared up at the ceiling until soon after Bella had drifted off to sleep I did too.

* * *

The sunlight creeping through the cracks in the window woke me up earlier than I had probably intended. When I went to stretch out my muscles I noticed the tiny figure curled up to my side. Bella hadn't made a sound during the night and that made me smile. She had managed to stay asleep and hopefully experienced no nightmares during her sleep. Being careful to not wake her I brushed my hand lightly against her forehead frowning when I felt that she was still so warm. I rose silently from the bed stretching languidly and got ready for the morning.

When I had finally finished getting dressed and making myself somewhat presentable I made my way downstairs where I found my mother, father, and sister all surrounding the dining room table. Carlisle was filling out paperwork over a cup of coffee and Alice was scanning through the newest fashion magazine she had received in the mail yesterday.

"Good morning Edward, do you want some breakfast?" Esme had already risen from her chair and was moving to fix a plate of food for me when I held my hand up.

"Mom, really, I'm a big boy and can serve myself now." I made my way over to the kitchen and plated myself some waffles and eggs before taking a seat across from Alice. "Dad, Bella's still very warm, she's sound asleep though so I didn't want to disturb her too much especially after the rough night she had." I delved into the food in front of me before noticing the lack of two people at the table. "Where are Chief Swan and Emmett?"

"Edward, how many times have I told you to just call me Charlie?"

"Good morning Charlie. Where's Emmett?" I asked him over a bite of waffle.

"He's probably still asleep I guess, not really sure. How's Bella doing? I haven't been able to see her since she left the hospital." Charlie poured himself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table.

"She's still running a high fever and last night she had a very vivid nightmare but we got it all sorted out. Hopefully she'll start to show some improvements when I go check on her." Carlisle informed him of everything that transpired in the early morning never once looking up from the paperwork he was filling out. Just as Carlisle finished informing Charlie of the events of last night, a very disheveled Emmett walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. Without a word to anyone Emmett walked over to the kitchen counter and piled a plate high with every food available.

"Good morning to you too Emmett." Esme greeted him a big smile on her face as she watched him walk to the table.

"Oh sorry, good morning everyone. I'm just tired." Emmet lazily sat himself down at the table and began to pick at his food.

"What's this? Emmett Swan uninterested in food?" Alice asked with an amused expression on her face. He gave a small smile before setting his fork down gently.

"I'm just worried about Bells is all; how is she anyway? I haven't seen her since the hospital." He looked towards Carlisle expecting an answer on his sister's condition.

"She had a nightmare last night and her fever still has not broken. I administered more of some intravenous antibiotics early this morning when she was awake." Carlisle finally looked up from the mound of paperwork before him as he repeated his summary of last night's events to Emmett.

"She slept peacefully after that, no nightmares or anything." I piped in after Carlisle updated them on where she stood medically. Charlie nodded his head the exhaustion and pain slipping a tiny bit onto his face.

"You should've gotten me last night, I would've woken up and done what I can. I want to be there for her. I'm such an awful brother I need to make up for all the times I wasn't there to protect her." Emmett had a pained look on his face as he desperately sought for a way to cure Bella of her past.

"She asked that I not disturb as many people as possible. She didn't even want me to get Carlisle last night to administer the medicine." I explained to him. Emmett nodded his head before picking up his fork again and pushing his food around. A somewhat comfortable silence fell over the breakfast table as everyone finished up and got on with their days. Carlisle made his exit shortly after Emmett joined the family saying that he would come back around lunch to check on Bella and to call him if anything was needed. Emmett and Charlie went upstairs to check and Bella and spend some family time with her even if she was sleeping. Alice and Esme had wandered off discussing interior design details and that left me. I fiddled with the fork on my plate before finally deciding to get up and head to my music room. It had been so long since I had played and now I felt as if there was must music screaming to get out my head. I sat myself down onto the bench and let my fingers flow over the keys doing scales I had memorized years ago. After I was sufficiently warmed up I closed my eyes and allowed my hands to dance across the keys to the melody I had heard in my head. By the time I had finished Alice and Esme had joined me and were silently listening to the composition I had just made up on the spot.

"Edward, that was simply amazing." Alice looked at me awestruck from her place on the sofa. Esme wiped a stray tear from her cheek before calmly walking to me by the bench.

"That was beautiful. Did you just write that?" She asked me. I simply nodded my head feeling a slight blush creep into my cheeks. Since when did I blush? "That was fantastic. I've missed you playing all the time and especially you writing music. It's always been a major part of this family." She hugged me before her and Alice made their exit from the room.

While I was writing down the composition onto staff paper, I allowed my mind to wander to the sleeping beauty. Despite the bruises and pain that were etched into her face, she was beautiful just like the melody I had played. There was a strong part of me that wanted to protect her in every way, shape, and form possible but there was also a part of me that was fearful of what I was suddenly feeling towards her. I shook my head as I realized just where my thoughts were going. I was turning into a sap thanks to all of those stupid chick flicks my dork of a sister dragged me to. Emmett would be so disappointed if he knew I was turning into a pansy. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose before looking down at the finished composition. I set it on the stand and delicately poised my fingers above the keys. The song started out dark with haunting chords before progressing to confused. In the composition it appeared as if some notes were mistakes when in reality they were exactly where they should be. Finally, I felt myself coming to my favorite part of the song where the hopeful melody poured from under my fingertips. I felt a small smile graze my lips as I crescendo into the final notes of the song.

This song described Bella's life or at least what I knew of it. She may have a dark past filled with secrets that some of us may never know but after the confusion of everything clears she will be surrounded my hope and of a loving and caring future to come. I tweaked a few parts before feeling satisfied enough with what I had written. As I finished up I decided to go up and spend time with Bella even if she was still asleep.

When I quietly knocked on her door she was all alone on the bed snuggled deep into the duvet. Emmett and Charlie must have left for practice and for work already. Just how long had I spent downstairs playing piano and thinking about Bella? I crept quietly over to her and ran my hand lightly over her sweat-covered cheek. I knew from what little medical knowledge I had, that sweating was good and that her fever would break anytime now. I pulled up a chair and grabbed a book off of the bookshelf and made myself comfortable. I decided that I would sit there and wait for her to wake up so at least she wouldn't freak out about being alone.

It had been almost an hour when I noticed her start to stir and her eyelids start to flutter open. Before I knew it her beautiful brown orbs were staring back into my green ones. "Good afternoon sunshine." I whispered quietly setting my book on the nightstand gently.

"How long have I been asleep?" She rasped out before coughing violently. I reached for the glass of water beside my book and helped Bella to sit up and drink some through the straw.

"It's only 11:45 right now so you haven't missed much don't worry." I helped prop her up on her pillows so she could sit up without having to struggle. She pushed her bangs out of her face grimacing when she felt the sweat coating her forehead.

"Wow, I feel so weak right now." She managed to get out in one breath. "And I feel absolutely disgusting." She giggled a tiny bit at her revelation before another coughing fit began.

"Take it easy Bella. Carlisle said that you have pneumonia and you're going to need a little while to heal. I can get Esme or Alice to help you get a bath if you like. Maybe that will make you feel better?" She debated this for a moment before nodding her head in agreement.

"I think a shower would be fantastic right now but I can do it myself. No need to trouble your mom or sister." She pushed the blankets off of her legs and slowly tried to bring herself to a standing position. I made a mental note of Bella's stubbornness as she still tried to bring herself to a standing position.

"Bella, it wouldn't be a bother to either of them if they could help you. Please, let me go ask them to come in and help you."

"Really, Edward, just help me up and I'll be fine. Just watch." She held her hands out for me to grasp and pull her up. I complied hoping to prove my point that she was too weak to do this herself. As soon as she reached a standing position Bella nearly collapsed against me.

"Please, let me get Esme and Alice." I whispered in her ear. She nodded her consent against my chest so I set her back down on the bed tucking her in gently and turned to walk out of her bedroom. I went up the flight of stairs towards Esme's office and found my mother and sister pouring over design catalogues.

"Mom, Alice, could one of you give Bella a hand with showering?" I asked.

"Of course dear, I'll be right up in a minute." Esme smiled at me cleaning up her desk a bit. "I'll be up as soon as I go over one last detail with Alice." I turned to leave the room and headed back up towards Bella.

"My mom will be up in a minute to help you shower. I know you think that you are a burden to us and everything but we are more than happy to help you in any way we can." _Especially me _I added in my head. Where did that come from? I slightly shook my head before turning my gaze back to Bella who looked about ready to go back to sleep. I felt a slight tug at my heart but shrugged it off immediately when Esme came into the room.

"Edward, could you perhaps fetch some of your smallest sweat pants and one of Alice's shirts? No need for her to uncomfortable in one of Alice's outfits." Esme replaced my spot next to Bella and gently helped her up from the bed and guided her to the bath which she already had running. I nodded my head and went to search out Alice's closet for anything remotely resembling a t-shirt. After a few minutes of searching I gave up and just decided to give her one of my smaller shirts that I had in my closet. I returned and set the clothes on the bed letting Esme know that I had brought back something.

While Esme was helping Bella relax and clean up I decided to take some time to complete some of my lovely homework. It may be fall break and all but that doesn't mean that I still don't have a lot of work to do. I know that ever since I was little I wanted to be just like Carlisle but this workload was absolutely insane and sometimes I feel as if this is not a field I am meant to be working or studying in. I guess if it is truly something I'm meant to do I'll find a way to work through the workload. I picked up a couple books and sat down at my desks and began to work on the increasing load of homework.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again to all the readers that have added me to their favorite's or alerts list. I know I say this with every new chapter but it really does rock my world. Also, a huge shoutout to those of you who have reviewed! It means so much to me and I love all of your lovely comments on what you think. It lets me know that I'm not just writing something to please myself.

Today was a huge day for this story, I was enlightened and now I know just how exactly I want this story to go. I have it all planned out in my mind and I cannot wait to share the new plot twists my mind has come up with. Fall break is this weekend for me and I plan to be getting a lot of writing done so after that updates should begin to happen more frequently.

I'm going to get back to writing the next chapter now and I hope you all enjoy this one. Some of you asked for Edward's point of view and I was actually already planning on making this chapter in his point of view. I hope you enjoy and that I don't disappoint.

~Jess


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

"How are you feeling Bella?" Esme asked me as she lathered my hair up in a sweet smelling shampoo.

"I feel fine. I'll heal eventually." I whispered enjoying the soothing feeling I got from her fingers gently massaging my scalp.

"I mean really Bella, you've been through a lot. There has to be a lot of emotions going through your mind." She picked up a small bucket and started to rinse the suds from my hair. I thought about her statement briefly and found myself at a loss for words. There were in fact so many emotions and feelings going through my head but I hadn't had any time to sort things out. I didn't know how to tell anyone what was going through my head without scaring them away.

"I don't want to scare you away." I felt the tears begin to well in my eyes as I turned and looked at Esme. Her smile fell a little and she stopped rinsing my hair and put the bucket down.

"Bella, don't ever be afraid of scaring any of us away. We are here for you no matter what. And your dad and your brother want so much to help you. They feel so helpless right now. We are all here for you." She hugged me to her small frame and resumed giving me a bath. After scrubbing my body gently with another sweet smelling soap she wrapped me in a fluffy towel and handed me the clothes Edward had left on the bed.

"I'll step outside and let you get dressed. If you need anything just call me." Esme turned and walked out of the bathroom shutting the door gently. I dried off being mindful of the still very tender places all over my body. I pulled the undergarments that had been haphazardly wedged in between the pants and t-shirt before pulling on the sweat pants which very nearly fell off of me until I tightened them as much as possible. When I picked up the shirt I couldn't help but bring it to my nose and inhale the already familiar scent.

"Edward…" I breathed out quietly to myself before pulling it over my head and hugging it close to my battered body. I took the damp towel and ran it over my wet hair again getting as much moisture off as possible. Taking a look in the mirror I noticed that my cheek was still slightly swollen and the angry purple mark was still screaming back at me. While my hair no longer looked as lifeless as it had before it still wasn't anything to brag about. I looked down at my bony wrists and noticed that they too were both covered in painful looking purple hand marks. Phil had positively bruised my body in every way possible.

I turned around sinking to the floor and brought my knees to my chest rather painfully and I began to sob. I let out all of the emotions, which I had so desperately been trying to hold back. Through my gut wrenching sobs I didn't notice the door creak open or the gentle sliding noise as someone joined me in my agony. It wasn't until I felt a hesitant arm wrap carefully around my shoulders and another arm reach out to grasp my hand in theirs that I looked up into the eyes of both my brother and Edward.

"I'm sorry. I…don't know what came over me…I just had to let it out." I choked out in between my sobs. I saw another pair of feet standing at the doorway and trailed my eyes upward to find my father with a pained expression on his face as he looked on helplessly.

"Bellsy, it's okay to cry. You don't need to be the strong one anymore. Lean on us for a little while and be the kid that you so deserve to be." Emmett soothed into my ear while squeezing my hand gently in his massive one. Edward nodded his head in agreement.

"Bells…please just come to us when you need something. Let me be the father I should have been to you all those years ago." I sobbed harder when I noticed the silent tears trailing down my fathers face. He was taking on the blame for this on himself. He was blaming himself for something that he never knew was occurring.

"Dad…please don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault…it's mine." I allowed a few more quiet sobs to escape as my dad knelt in front of me and swept me up in a tight hug. I flinched slightly at the sudden contact but quickly melted into my father's arms. He would never be like Phil and he would never lay a hand on me.

"Don't you ever say that again, you hear me? This was not your fault. You are the last person anyone would blame for this." He wiped a few of the tears on his sleeve and sat cross-legged in front of me.

"He's taken everything from me. What more do I have to give? He ruined me." I whispered the last part of my outburst. Three very distressed yet slightly angry eyes turned towards me and stared. I cowered into myself a little more as I took in their angry glances.

"You are in no way ruined Isabella Swan. That scumbag of a man has not ruined you in any way. He may have hurt you physically and somewhat emotionally at the moment but he has not ruined you any way. You are still a beloved daughter and sister and friend." Edward spoke up this time, as he looked me square in the eye.

"Edward is right Bellsy. Nothing that fleabag of a man did to you could ruin you. The bruises will fade and eventually the memories will become less vivid and nothing will tie you to him ever again." I had never heard my brother speak so seriously before. Granted, I hadn't spoken with my brother in almost a decade but still, I knew from his demeanor that Emmett very rarely acted seriously. My dad opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it relying instead on embracing me in another one of his fatherly hugs. He knew I understood that he was never good with words. All four of us sat in silence on the bathroom floor for a decent amount of time. My head was laying on Edward's shoulder and Emmett had my feet in his lap as my dad looked on in front of me watching my facial expressions intently.

"Bella, we should probably move you back into the bed so that you can rest." It was that beautiful voice that spoke up and broke the very comfortable silence that had settled over us. Charlie and Emmett both agreed and hoisted themselves off the ground. Emmett bent down and picked me up carefully and I had to shut my eyes to will back all of the terrifying memories that his brotherly touch reminded me of. _'He's just Emmett. It's not Phil. He's just Emmett'_ I chanted to myself in my head. He gently set me down on the bed and my dad brought the covers up over my legs tucking me in snuggly like he used to when I was a little girl.

"I love you more than anything in this world. Sleep sweetie so that you can heal and we can put this all behind us." My dad hesitantly leaned his head down and placed a brief kiss on my forehead. "I'm right down the hall and don't be afraid to have someone come and wake me up if you need me." He tucked the covers a bit tighter around me and went to stand by the door as Emmett plopped himself down next to me.

"Bellsy, I know I've been a bit of a sap here lately but I want you to know that I am still your macho big older brother and that no matter what happens you can come to me for anything…well except any of that lady stuff…"

"Emmett…" My dad warned with a smile on his face.

"My point was that I love you Bells. You're my little sister and I would do anything for you." He too leaned down and kissed my forehead before him and Charlie exited the room leaving me with Edward.

"I'll be right across the hall Bella if you need anything. Do not hesitate to come and get one of us. We are more than willing to do anything for you." I felt the panic set in as I thought about the nightmares that were sure to invade my sleep if Edward left. I may not be in the best mental state right now but I know that when Edward stayed the night with me the nightmares never came.

"Edward…" I whispered gently hoping he heard me. He turned around swiftly and looked at me. "Edward, please don't leave. I don't want the nightmares to come." I pleaded with him with my eyes. His grin lit up his face as he walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in again giving me all the space that I needed.

"Of course Bella. Anything you need I will be happy to oblige." He turned on his side but continued to face me and watched as I fell asleep. He began to hum a beautiful melody to me and I felt my eyelids become extremely heavy.

"Thank you Edward." I barely managed to whisper out as sleep finally overtook me.

* * *

A/N: Sorry guys this is going to be a short chapter. I kind of wanted to show a little bit of the motherly side of Esme as well as show that Edward was kind of managing to gain more and more trust from Bella. Enough trust that when she had a breakdown like that Edward was able to join both her father and her brother. These next few chapters I feel like are going to be "filler" chapters just so you can see how the relationship between Edward and Bella begins to grow even more. If that bugs any of you let me know and maybe I can find a way to speed up the process a little bit. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, you guys are fantastic. I'm really enjoying writing this story a lot and like I said in the previous chapters the ideas have finally begun to flow like crazy! I don't even know what to do with them sometimes. My notes on digital systems are covered in just random ideas that popped into my head during class :).Thanks again and I'll have the next update on here soon! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

~Jess


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9 (Edward's Point of View)**_

I quickly became engrossed in the textbooks in front me as I took to memorizing symptoms of this disorder and symptoms of that disorder. It wasn't long after I had filled out my 100th note card it seemed that Esme knocked gently on my bedroom door breaking me from my studies.

"I'm sorry to disturb you sweetie but Bella will probably be out in a few minutes." She came in and gave me a motherly hug and turned to walk back out. "I've noticed that Bella has become quite attached to you in such a short amount of time. She trusts you a lot." She made a note of the recent growth in my and Bella's relationship. I just nodded my head and stood up from my chair following her out the door.

"I just want her to know that I'm there for her is all." Esme gave me that knowing motherly look and eyed me carefully before speaking her next words.

"Edward, as your mother I feel obligated to tell you that I'm excited for the fact that you have found someone who has captured a piece of your heart. However as someone who dearly loves Bella, she needs time. She's in no mental state right no to be jumping into anything like this." She touched her hand gently to my cheek.

"I don't know what you're talking about mom. She's Emmett's little sister and I just want to be there for her." Where was she suddenly getting these ideas? Bella has captured a piece of my heart? What was that? I shook my head at her. It was then that my ears picked up the faint sound of someone crying. I immediately knew who it was and moved through the doorway and into Bella's room. I found Charlie and Emmett standing in front of the door with their own masks of pain.

"What do we do? Do we go in?" Emmett asked frantically chewing on his thumbnail as he listened to his sister sob. Charlie shook his head and looked down.

"I don't know Emmett, I wish I did but I've never been in this situation before. I don't want to startle her." I came up behind them and patted Emmett on the back.

"She needs you. She needs your comfort and she needs to know that she's loved." I assured them. Emmett nodded his head and moved his hand to the doorknob giving it a slight twist and gently pushing the door open. The sight before me broke my heart. Bella was curled up in a tight ball with her back against the vanity. She had tearstains on her cheeks and her body racked with sobs. She looked so helpless; so fragile. Emmett and I made our way closer to her while Charlie stayed back at the door too afraid that he'd hurt his daughter even more. I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders giving her any comfort I could manage. Emmett sat on her other side and placed his hand over hers.

"I'm sorry. I…don't know what came over me…I just had to let it out." She managed to choke out in between her sobs. I felt my heart twinge again as I noted her broken voice. More tears trekked their way down her cheeks as she continued to mutter incoherently.

"Bellsy, it's okay to cry. You don't need to be the strong one anymore. Lean on us for a little while and be the kid that you so deserve to be." Emmett was the first to break the silence. His voice was gentle and soft; barely above a whisper.

"Bells…please just come to us when you need something. Let me be the father I should have been to you all those years ago." Charlie finally made his presence known in the room. His voice cracked with the raw emotion as he took in the scene of his teenage daughter sobbing to herself in misery.

"Dad…please don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault…it's mine." My body tensed up as Bella blamed this on herself. This was anything but her fault. It was that asshole Phil's fault. Ever bit of grief she was experiencing and every bit she was going to experience was his entire fault. I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath not wanting to scare Bella away with my sudden angered expression.

"Don't you ever say that again, you hear me? This was not your fault. You are the last person anyone would blame for this." Charlie looked like he was about to break into a million pieces. He was so afraid to touch Bella for fear she would cower away from him. If I ever saw this Phil person I was going to kill him no matter what punishment I would pay for it.

"He's taken everything from me. What more do I have to give? He ruined me." Any sense of calm I had flitted away at those very words. I felt my rage overpower me and if it hadn't been for the fragile girl sitting in my arms I would've run off in search of the pig who did this to her.

"You are in no way ruined Isabella Swan. That scumbag of a man has not ruined you in any way. He may have hurt you physically and somewhat emotionally at the moment but he has not ruined you any way. You are still a beloved daughter and sister and friend." I reassured her that she was not ruined. She could never be ruined, at least not to me.

"Edward is right Bellsy. Nothing that fleabag of a man did to you could ruin you. The bruises will fade and eventually the memories will become less vivid and nothing will tie you to him ever again." Emmett said the most serious and profound thing I had ever heard him say in the entire time that I have known him. I stared at him flabbergasted. He noted my stare and shrugged his shoulders lightly before turning back to Bella. No one spoke after that comment. We all sat in a somewhat comfortable silence. Charlie still had tears running down his face as did Bella but at least her sobs had quieted down some. The hand she had fisted against my shirt was beginning to slacken and I noticed her eyelids had become droopier than before.

"Bella, we should probably move you back into the bed so that you can rest." I felt bad for having to bring her out of the calm stupor she had fallen into but all three of them agreed with my suggest. I removed my arm from around the back of her head and all three of us stood up. Emmett carefully maneuvered his arms underneath his sister and hoisted her up into his outrageously large arms. I noticed as her eyes shut tight and her teeth began to chew on her bottom lip no doubt piercing the sensitive skin. _'She has beautiful lips' _was the thought that came to my head. Where in heaven's name did that come from? I shook my head slightly to clear to odd thoughts that had begun to cloud my head. Emmett placed her down on the bed gently before her dad stepped in and tucked her in like you would a little girl. I felt a little guilty for intruding on this personal family moment but something in me would not allow me to leave.

"I love you more than anything in this world. Sleep sweetie so that you can heal and we can put this all behind us." Her dad placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and tucked her in tighter before going to stand by the doorway giving Emmett a minute to say good night.

"Bellsy, I know I've been a bit of a sap here lately but I want you to know that I am still your macho big older brother and that no matter what happens you can come to me for anything…well except any of that lady stuff…"

"Emmett…" Charlie warned.

"My point was that I love you Bells. You're my little sister and I would do anything for you." It was then Emmett decided to take his leave as he too placed a kiss on her forehead and then both father and brother exited the room.

"I'll be right across the hall Bella if you need anything. Do not hesitate to come and get one of us. We are more than willing to do anything for you." As I finished my statement I noticed the panic look that overtook her features. Before I could say anymore Bella's small musical voice piped in. I didn't want to leave but I didn't want to scare her by staying and playing creepy stalker. I turned on my heel and began to walk out the bedroom door.

"Edward…" she whispered ever so quietly. I almost missed when she called my name. "Edward, please don't leave. I don't want the nightmares to come." She was pleading me with her eyes. Her lower lip was curled out and tears had welled into her eyes. I couldn't help but comply with her request.

"Of course Bella. Anything you need I will be happy to oblige." I climbed into the bed and again gave her a decent amount of space so as not to scare her into a panic attack. Her worried face relaxed a bit and a gentle smile graced her face. I turned onto my side so I could continue to look at her as she fell asleep.

"Thank you Edward." She had barely managed to whisper out. I softly began to hum the melody I had written not but a day ago. It wasn't long before her beautiful chocolate eyes took their rest for the night. I stayed in bed a little bit longer just to make sure that she would not wake up. It was still too early and I wasn't feeling very tired. I gently removed myself from the bed being careful not to disturb her as much as possible. I wanted to go and find Emmett and see how he was doing. I walked down the hallway and stopped in front of his door. It was like a moment of déjà vu as I heard Emmett sobbing behind his closed bedroom door. I carefully knocked and grasped the handle before turning it and pushing it open.

"Emmett?" I said hesitantly.

"Sorry man, I just…it's so hard seeing her like that. I feel like I've just failed her as a brother." He sighed into his hands as he rubbed his face wiping away a few stray tears. I had never seen Emmett cry before this moment. He was always the jokester; the one we could rely on to be the comic relief.

"Emmett, you didn't know. You couldn't have known. If she hadn't managed to get away you probably still wouldn't have known what was going on. You can't help what you don't know." Emmett stood up and began pacing the floor of his room.

"That's just it Edward. I should've suspected something was up. Why wouldn't Bella want anything to do with us? I'm her brother and dad…how could she not want anything to do with dad!" He was getting more agitated the more he thought about it. If he didn't quit pacing he was going to form a hole in the carpe and Esme would have his head on a platter.

"Emmett you didn't know." I wanted to emphasize that point as much as possible but it didn't seem to be getting through that thick skull of his. He continued pacing in front of me gnawing down on his already too short fingernails.

"I should have known!" He startled me with his booming voice. "I should've have guessed that something was wrong. I should have been more persistent with my phone calls. Instead of spending all that time gallivanting off with the group or pursuing Rosie, not that I don't love her to death, but if I had maybe convinced Charlie to let me go visit Bella…" He trailed off and sat down on the bed with his head in his hands.

"Emmett, listen to me…" when he didn't look up at me I forced him to "There is nothing that you could have done! Neither you nor Charlie knew what was going nor could you have possibly found out. I may not know the full situation or anything but I do know that Bella was probably not allowed to tell you what was going on. There was nothing you could do. Believe me when I say that." I stared at Emmett and he nodded his head.

"If I ever see that bastard again…I don't think there are enough cops in this world who could pry me off of him and stop me from inflicting the pain that he deserves." Emmett's face turned menacing as he thought about everything he wanted to do to Phil.

"You and me both bro, you and me both." I whispered clapping him on the back.

"You and Bella seem awfully close now. I'm surprised she's not more anxious around you like she is Carlisle." Emmett noted.

"Yeah I don't know why but she feels somewhat comfortable with me. I'm not going to complain." I felt a small smile tug at my lips as I thought about just how comfortable Bella felt with me. I was about to open my mouth to say something when a blood-curdling scream filled the house. Emmett and I sprinted from his room and came to a halt in front of the thrashing Bella. Charlie, Carlisle, Esme, and Alice along with Jasper were not far behind us and before my mind knew what it was doing I ran into Bella's room and cradled her thrashing form to my chest.

"Bella, please wake up. It's just a nightmare. I'm sorry that I left you." I whispered into her ear. Her body visibly relaxed and I pushed a stray lock of hair from her face. Her eyes fluttered open and I was lost in the pool of her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. For that second we were lost in each other and the world around us had faded. She quickly snapped out of it and her eyes frantically began searching for someone.

"Where's my dad?" Her voice was panicked and trembled as her eyes scan what she could see of the room.

"Bells, I'm right here." He came up to the other side of the bed and climbed in next to her. She immediately let go of me for which I was sad at the loss of the warm body and climbed into her dads lap hugging him to her tightly.

"I thought he killed you dad. It was so real. I thought that Phil had killed you." She began to sob quietly against her dad's shoulder as he soothed her.

"I'm never going anywhere Bells. I'm always going to be right here." He cooed. She finally began to calm down a bit after a few minutes and her grip on her father began to slacken.

"Bella, would you mind if I did a brief check up just to ensure that things are healing well? It would make me feel better." Carlisle stepped from his place by Esme's side and walked to the bed where I sat. She nodded her head and let go of Charlie completely. Carlisle gave her a loving smile before checking on her taped up ribs and her braced wrist. He nodded his head and smiled gently down on her. "Everything is looking fantastic Bella. You should be healed up in no time." He turned and went back to embracing Esme from behind.

"I'm so sorry for screaming like that everyone." Bella whispered as she hung her head and began to fiddle with the sheets.

"It's okay Bella, really, we understand." Esme piped in. Bella's eyes scanned the room and landed on the unfamiliar face that had followed the noise minutes ago.

"Who is he?" She whispered to me.

"That's Jasper, Alice's boyfriend. You'll get to know him in due time." She nodded her head and buried herself into Charlie's embrace yet again.

"Let's let Bella get some rest everyone." I stood up from the bed allowing Charlie and Bella to talk about things. "If you need anything just yell and we'll be more than happy to oblige." I exited the room along with the rest of my family and shut the door quietly sighing when I felt my heart twinge at the pain that I had seen on Bella's face.

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A/N: I'm feeling like I may go ahead and rewrite this chapter so opinions on what you think would be greatly appreciated. Again this is pretty much a filler chapter but soon enough things will be happening that may leave you feeling shocked. I've already got the next few chapters written so things will begin to pick up soon, I promise. Also, I know I say this every time but thank you so much to those of you who have added me to a favorite's or alert's list. My inbox has been full of alerts that I've been added and it's fantastic! I love it! Thank you also goes out to those of you who reviewed and told me what you think! It rocks my world...for real! I hope that you enjoy this chapter and if you didn't, let me know! Please review!

~Jess


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

It had been a week since Carlisle diagnosed me with pneumonia. My fever had broken four days ago and I was finally allowed to rejoin the real world. Carlisle also told me that my wrist could come out of this brace in another week. I couldn't be more ecstatic over that. Throughout my week of spending time lounging around in bed and doing nothing I had grown extremely close to Edward. So close, in fact, that I was almost nervous of where this was leading. This was uncharted territory in my book and I didn't want to do anything to offend him or push him away. I considered Edward my best friend; my confidant but something told me that there was more to how I was feeling towards him than just platonic feelings. You don't get butterflies in your stomach when it comes to your best friend. And you most certainly do not get lightheaded just by breathing in the scent of your best friend. There was definitely something else there but I was too afraid to admit it.

Besides my brother and my dad he was the only other person I could fully trust. I was pulled out of my thoughts when the front door opened and closed. I walked out of the kitchen to greet whomever it was who had walked in the door. I was met with the sight of Edward, Emmet, and Jasper carrying what looked to be at least five bags apiece. A very bouncy Alice trailed the three of them of.

"Did you buy out the mall or something?" I asked as I stared flabbergasted at the numerous amounts of full shopping bags.

"Of course not silly, just half the mall." Alice replied nonchalantly. "You needed some new clothes so I took the liberty of picking some out for you." I couldn't tell if my eyes got any wider at the thought of all of those bags becoming part of my wardrobe.

"Don't worry little sister, Alice will eventually find someone else to shop for. Just give it some time." He came up and gave wrapped an arm around me. "By the way do you think you could do me a favor?" He asked me. I looked up at him hesitantly and nodded my head. "There's nothing to be afraid of munchkin I was just wondering if I could introduce you to my girlfriend, Rosalie. She's been wanting to meet you for a while but we wanted to wait and give you time to adjust." Emmett looked at me waiting for my response.

"Sure, Em, why not." I smiled at him. It couldn't be that hard to meet Rosalie, I handled meeting Jasper pretty well. I couldn't keep hiding away from the rest of civilization forever. Emmett was ecstatic and immediately whipped out his phone and dialed her number as he moved out of the room.

"You'll be fine. Rose is a great person and she'll love you." Edward replaced Emmett's place by my side and gave me a reassuring smile.

"I'm not too worried." I smiled back at him and he just chuckled.

"Do you want to watch a movie or something until she gets here? Calm any nerves that may choose to surface at some point…" He looked anxious as he asked me this. I felt my stomach tighten slightly at his face.

"I would love to Edward." He looked relieved at my answer and took my hand in his. I was becoming less and less scared of when Edward or Emmett or my dad would touch me. I was still a little shaky when it came to Carlisle but that's probably because I haven't spent a lot of time with him. We made our way to the great room and he sat me on the couch and wrapped me in a blanket before going over to their enormous DVD collection.

"What shall it be my lady? Romance? Drama? Comedy?" He was facing me while pointing to each section of their very organized DVD shelves. I thought about it for a moment before deciding on the perfect movie.

"Would you mind if we watched a chick flick?" I asked him blushing slightly.

"I want whatever it is you want." He stated.

"Can we watch 'The Proposal'? I haven't seen it and Alice said it was a really good movie and that Ryan Reynolds was cute." I felt my blush deepen and I bowed my head in semi-embarrassment. I heard a chuckle come from Edward who had turned around to search out the movies. He located the DVD and put it into the player before coming over to where I was seated on the couch. As the movie began I cuddled into Edward's side more seeking the warmth that his body always gave me. He obliged and wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer to him. I inconspicuously inhaled his heavenly sent and felt my head start to swim and my heart rate begin to pick up. I was only half paying attention to the movie thanks to the divinely smelling gorgeous man sitting next to me.

* * *

We had made it about 30 minutes when we heard a doorbell ring. I heard Emmett's booming voice come from the foyer before his loud footsteps could be heard. He came into the great room pulling behind him a beautiful blonde woman. How had Emmett managed to snag someone like that? My mind could not comprehend that this was my brother's girlfriend.

"Bells, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Rosalie Hale. Rosie, baby, this is my baby sister Bella." He came and pulled me up from the couch gently being mindful of my still tender body and brought me over to the gorgeous blonde.

"It's so nice to finally get to put a face to the name. Emmett hasn't stopped talking about you." She pulled me into a warm hug. I tensed up briefly but felt myself relax in her grip.

"It's nice to finally meet you too. How ever did you fall for my big oaf of a brother?" I asked her not really thinking about what I was saying. She threw her head back and let out a musical laugh.

"It's a rather funny story I'll have to share with you sometime." She smiled at me. Emmett wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. They were an adorable couple I had to admit and Emmett looked like he was absolutely smitten with this young lady beside him.

"Come and finish the movie with Edward and me. We just started it a little while ago so you haven't missed much. I grabbed Emmett's hand and led him further into the room before replacing myself back in Edward's embrace. He started the movie back up and I snuggled deeper into his side.

"Hey Rosie." He said as Emmett and Rosalie took their seats on a love seat next to us. She too snuggled into Emmett's side as he played with his hair. I smiled at the picture the two of them made. I was so happy that Emmett had found someone as beautiful as Rosalie as well as the fact that they seemed absolutely perfect for each other in every way. We finished the movie and as the end credits were rolling Emmett stood up and stretched out.

"Well, it's been a whole hour and a half since I last ate, anyone else hungry?" As if my stomach could understand every word that Emmett had just said it erupted into a loud growl that everyone in the house surely heard.

"Well, at least we know that you two are definitely related." Rose joked around. I found myself blushing yet again and I tried to bury my face into Edward's chest.

"Don't hide Bella, I think your blush is adorable." Edward whispered into my ear. I felt myself shiver from his warm breath on my ear and butterflies filled my stomach. What was happening to me? Edward was bringing out such foreign reactions in me. "Let's get you something to eat." He pulled me up off the couch and we trailed behind Rose and Emmett as they entered the kitchen. Esme already had something cooking on the stove and the smell of it was suddenly making me feel very ill. Before I knew what was happening I felt myself making a mad dash for the washroom. I heaved up the non-existent contents of my stomach into the toilet. Edward was following behind me during my run for the bathroom and quickly had a cool cloth to wipe against my forehead.

"Are you alright Bells?" He asked after I had seated myself onto the ground.

"I don't know, I guess the smell just didn't sit right with my stomach." He continued to pat the cloth across my head.

"Do you want some water?" He asked me. I just nodded my head too weak to respond in any other manner. He stood up briefly to fill up a cup with cool water before handing it to me. I noticed how badly my hands were shaking as I took a sip from the cup. "Do you think you can stand up and walk?"

"Yeah I feel better." Edward helped me to my feet and had me lean against him as we made our way back out into the living room.

"How about I go in the kitchen and bring you some crackers?" Edward asked as he brought the blanket over my tiny frame.

"That sounds fantastic." As Edward turned to leave a worried Emmett came running up to the couch.

"What happened munchkin? Are you okay?" He put his hand against my forehead feeling for any signs of a returning fever. "Should I call Carlisle?"

"Emmett, please calm down. I'm fine. I just felt sick…I don't know why…something about the kitchen? I don't know." I was running through what happened in my head again trying to see if I could remember why in the world I suddenly had to hurl my stomach out of my body.

"Are you sure? You're still really pale." Emmett continued to look worriedly at me as he grasped my hand in his.

"Emmett, I promise, I'm fine. I think I may just need to lie down for a while." He nodded and squeezed my hand gently.

"Okay, well you sit tight, I'm going to go back get my food and Rosie and we can sit out here and watch movies. Does that sound okay?" He asked me.

"That sounds great, Em, really. You don't need to spend time with me though. I'm sure Rosalie would want to do something more fun than just sitting around and watching movies with your kid sister."

"Don't be silly Bella. I would not want anything else than to sit around and hang out with my boyfriend and his little sister. Plus, it'll be a great way to get to know you more." Rosalie walked in at that moment carrying two plates of food. Following behind her was Edward with a plate of saltines and some sprite.

"Maybe this will help settle your stomach." Edward placed the plate and cup on the table in front of me and went to sit down by my feet pulling them into his lap. He started to rub them gently and part of me wanted to moan at how amazing that felt. I kept my reactions to myself though so I didn't scare anyone off.

I reached for a couple of crackers and nibbled on them as Emmett picked out one of his stupid overly action packed movies and put it in. Rosalie and I sighed in boredom within the first ten minutes of the movie. Finally, she turned towards me and started a conversation.

"So Bella, what grade are you in?" She asked.

"Actually, I just graduated. I was able to get out early in hopes of going to college but I was never able to make enough money to cover anything. Then, I ran away and well, now I'm here."

"You should come with us! We all go to the University of Washington. You could apply for the spring semester and everything!"

"I don't know Rosalie. I can't afford something like that. Plus, I doubt I would even get in." I shook my head at her and hung my head down.

"Bells, if you want to go to school, you know dad is going to pay for it right? He wants nothing more than for you to pursue your education. And if you managed to graduate early, then you must be really smart. I can't believe I missed your big day. You should've sent dad and me an announcement." Emmett replied.

"I couldn't ask dad to do that. College is a lot of money. If I ever go, I'm going to pay for it myself."

"Bella, you should come. I think you would do really well. There are scholarships that can help and the school gives them out too. Just think about it at least?" Edward was the one coaxing me into this idea now.

"I'll think about it." How could I say no to those beautiful green pools that he called eyes? It wasn't fair just how much control he had over me without even knowing it. What more if he did? I shuddered slightly at that thought. We all went back to watching the movie. Rosalie made some more small talk during the movie and I was slowly discovering that I liked her a lot. At some point in the middle of our second movie Alice and Jasper joined us. Alice was like Rose and I and decided to join our conversation instead of pay any real attention to the movie.

"Shhh, I can't hear a damn word they're saying." Emmett shouted at us. He threw a bit of his popcorn at us, which prompted us to talk louder.

"Hey, can we make a shopping trip soon?" Alice suggested. I groaned. How could Alice want to make ANOTHER shopping trip?

"Alice, you just bought out the mall earlier today! How could you possibly want to spend anymore money?" I thought about all of the new clothes that Alice had bought for me earlier this afternoon. I hadn't even seen what she bought yet I was absolutely dreading them.

"You can never have too many clothes. Besides, we don't have to shop for just clothes. We can shop for shoes or jewelry or accessories." Alice listed things off on her hands, one item to a finger. I sighed and shook my head. There would be no bargaining with this little demonic bundle of energy.

"It's okay Bella, you don't' need to go if you don't want to. Not everyone has the shopping stamina like this one." Rose chucked her finger in Alice's direction. In turn Alice stuck her tongue out and sent her a glare.

"Way to be mature Alice, way to be mature." Rose shook her head a slight grin giving away her playfulness. Eventually we finished the second movie and instead of putting on a third we just sat around and talked for a while. Edward had gone upstairs near the end of the second movie to bring down some of his schoolwork so he could multitask. We had just started playing a game of cards when both Carlisle and Charlie walked inside the house.

"Hey guys." Carlisle greeted as he hung up his coat and put his briefcase down by the door. "How is everyone today?" He came and sat down on the leather recliner. Charlie came and sat down next to me. He lifted my head and placed it in his lap. There was a chorus of "I'm fine's" and "It's been fabulous."

"How are you today Bella? Have you been feeling okay?" He turned his attention full on to Bella.

"I'm fine." I lied.

"She's not fine, she threw up earlier." Emmett told Carlisle. I sent him a glare.

"How are you feeling now?" He got up and walked over to me checking my forehead for a sign of a return of my fever.

"Really, Carlisle, I feel fine. The nausea just came and went." Carlisle had a pensive look on his face as he contemplated all the possibilities.

"If you feel sick again anytime, let me know alright?" I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

"Are you sure you are feeling okay Bells?" My dad asked me as he continued to stroke my hair gently. I nodded and smiled up at him in reassurance. "Bells, if it's alright with you I was thinking of heading back home tomorrow." I felt my somewhat happy mood fall. The idea of leaving this house saddened me greatly. It would be weird not having so many people around at all times. "Usually Emmett stays here because it's easier to get to school in the mornings so…if you wanted to and if it's okay with Carlisle and Esme, you could stay here too. I'm sure you'd be more comfortable here than just living with your old man." He chuckled to himself. "Besides Emmett and I usually come here for dinner every night since neither of us can cook." I felt a small smile tug at my lips. "It's just easier for me to sleep at home because it's closer to the station."

"Are you sure dad? I can come home with you." I asked him.

"Bells, you'll always have a room in our house but I think it'd be better if you lived here just because it's closer to Forks High School and you'd be with kids your age."

"Uh, speaking of school dad…well, I don't go to high school anymore." I informed him. I forgot that he hadn't known about the fact that I graduated early back home in an attempt to get away from Phil.

"What do you mean you're not going to school? Of course you are. You've got to finish out high school!" His face was one of shock as he looked down at me.

"I know Dad really I do. I've already finished high school. I just graduated this spring." I informed him. Confusion marred his features as he took in this new piece of information.

"Graduated? How could you have graduated? You're turning 18 in a few weeks." He still looked majorly confused.

"I know. I graduated early in an attempt to get away from Phil. I was going to try and get to college so I started working and saving up money but it just wasn't enough." I told him.

"Wow and you didn't tell me you were graduating. We would have come down! That's a huge moment!" He looked sad at the fact that he had missed his little girl's graduation.

"I'm sorry but I couldn't let you see me the way I was. I didn't know what Phil would do." I whispered. He just pulled me in for a hug telling me that it was okay. He also pushed the idea of attending the University of Washington with Emmett and the rest of the gang. He, like Emmett had said, even offered to pay for my education but I quickly turned him down. He promptly told me that he was paying for it and that was final.

Esme came down from her study a little while later and joined the family in the great room. She had apparently already started dinner without any of us knowing. After a few more minutes of conversation all of us made our way into the kitchen. I noticed Edward eyeing me carefully as we took our seats around the table. Charlie brought a plate over to me and placed it on the placemat in front of me. That's when it hit me. The sudden wave of nausea was too powerful and I felt like I was having a déjà vu moment. I quickly bolted from my place at the table and too the bathroom and dry heaved. Edward, Charlie, Emmett and Carlisle all followed behind me and watch the scene unfold.

"Bella, I want to run some tests on you. I think I may know what's going on but I don't want to cause any panic when it is not needed." I simply nodded my head as Edward again wiped a cool cloth across my sweaty forehead. Emmett handed me a glass of water and had me drink it all before he would take it back.

"I'm going to carry you upstairs alright?" Edward whispered in my ear.

"Okay." That was the only word I was able to croak out. I felt so weak. My whole body felt as if it was made of lead. I snuggled my head into the crook of Edward's neck and inhaled his scent hoping it would make me feel better. He placed me gently down on the bed and I suddenly felt very alone without his warmth. As if he could read my mind however he came around and stretched out on the other side of my bed. Carlisle, my brother and dad trailed in behind us. Carlisle had magically gotten a few plastic vials and a needle and tourniquet.

"I'm just going to draw a few vials of blood to send over to lab." I nodded my head and buried my face into Edward chest gripping at his shirt tightly. I felt the prick from the needle and felt lightheaded as Carlisle removed a few vials of my blood.

"Okay Bella, all done. I want you to get as much rest as possible until we get these test results back." I wanted to scream in frustration.

"You're not confining me to this bed again are you? I don't think I could take another few days of being bed ridden."

"No, you can get up and move around but keep activity to a minimum. No major marathons or anything for right now." I smiled at that statement.

"Sorry Alice I guess that means I can't go shopping with you. We all know that shopping with you is a marathon in itself." She huffed and pulled on Jasper's arm to go back downstairs. I inwardly grinned at my triumph.

"We'll leave you to get some rest Bella." Carlisle and Esme and my brother and dad all exited the room after saying their good nights. All that was left was Edward and I.

"Do you want me to stay? I can go back to my room if you want." I grabbed his hand and shook my head.

"Edward you keep my nightmares at bay. I don't know what it is but when you stay with me, they don't come. It's like your some sort of dream shield for me." He smiled down at me and tucked me into his embrace. As we had grown closer of the past week, I had become more comfortable with his touch. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to, I don't want you to feel like you have to." I realized how selfish I was being and wanted to make sure he knew he didn't have to stay with me.

"Nonsense Bella. I'm always here for you no matter what. I'll be your 'dream shield' any day." I chuckled at how ridiculous my idea sounded but it was all I could think of to describe what he did for me.

"Can you hum to me? The song that you always do?" He nodded and his beautiful voice filled the room. I quickly found my eyelids beginning to droop and soon enough I was encompassed by darkness.

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A/N: Let me just say that you readers are so awesome! I came home from a performance after I had posted this chapter and my inbox was full of alerts for reviews, story alerts, and favorite stories. You guys are awesome! Thank you so much to everyone. I am so grateful for all of your reviews and your feedback; it really means so much to me. I especially loved whitneyrosecullen's review/tangent. We'll just have to wait and see if Bella's dream comes true or not...you never know! Thank you guys so much. I do appreciate your feedback a lot.

Well this isn't so much of a filler chapter as the others were but I hope that you enjoy it nonetheless. It took me a lot longer to write and for some reason I just couldn't find a good place to stop at. Sorry if it seems that this chapter goes on forever. I know I say this at the end of every new chapter but please do let me know how you like it. I do read everything you have to say. Thanks again to all of you, you really brightened my evening even more when I saw how full my inbox was. Enjoy!

~Jess


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

_We were walking through a beautiful green meadow hand in hand laughing at everything and anything. Edward and I were so happy. I could hear the sound of children laughing that joined in with us. Suddenly in front of me were two children, a girl and a boy. The little girl had brown bouncy curls and the little boy had hair going every which way. Edward looked down lovingly at me and pulled me towards the running children. As we were sitting down on the picnic blanket, which had appeared out of nowhere, I noticed the very large sparkling diamond that adorned my left ring finger. Edward too had a matching white gold band on his left ring finger. I smiled back up at him and cuddled deeper into his side._

_

* * *

_I was pulled from my daydream when Edward walked into the room and sat down next to me on the bed. Since when did I start daydreaming over a man that would never want something so damaged? I couldn't help but admit to myself how amazing that life had seemed. If only something like that could actually come true. Over the past couple of weeks my feelings for Edward had deepened significantly and I had finally come to terms with the fact that I was indeed falling for my best friend. Between all the gentle touches and his overly caring attitude, it was no surprise that I had fall hard and fast for him. I sighed to myself and felt my heart twinge at the sad feeling of never being able to have Edward.

"Any luck with what you were looking for?" He asked me.

"Uh…no not really." I clicked on a few more links in hopes to find anything that seemed to catch my eye but nothing really did.

"Bella, can I ask you something?" Edward asked me. He started fiddling with his hands and running them through his hair more frequently than he normally would. What was wrong with him?

"Yeah Edward, you can ask me anything you know that. Are you okay?" I was semi-concerned at his sudden change in behavior. He took my hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze before meeting my eyes.

"Don't feel compelled to say anything right now. I can't keep it in me any longer though. I know that right now isn't the best time or anything. You're still healing which is why I want you to more of think about it than answer right away." He continued to ramble on, going in circles. I finally got frustrated enough to speak up.

"Just come out with it already Edward." I had a playful smile tugging at my lips.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me sometime?" He mumbled quickly. I caught some of it but not enough to piece it together.

"You need to slow down, I didn't catch most of that." I stroked his face with the palm of my hand hoping to calm him down slightly. I had never seen Edward so flustered in my whole life. What was making him so jittery?

"Will you…go out to dinner…with me? Sometime?" He stuttered out. I felt my stomach do a little dance when realization finally dawned on me why he was so nervous. Edward Cullen was asking me out? I felt my face turn from one of confusion to bliss as I thought about going on a date with the handsome Edward Cullen. I finally came back down to reality after a few short minutes and noticed Edward's panicky moment had all but quadrupled during my silence.

"Edward, I would love to. It would be an absolute pleasure." I stroked his face again with my palm and saw him visibly relax. He pulled me in for a warm hug.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured. I also most certainly do not want you doing anything that would put you out of your comfort zone." He gently squeezed my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer to him.

"I'm okay. I'm always okay as long as I am with you." Our special moment was interrupted when an overly joyous pixie barged into my room throwing herself onto my bed.

"It's about freaking time you asked her out Edward. The tension between you two has been ridiculous!" Alice wedged her tiny little body in between Edward and me and wrapped her arms around the two of us. "Now we can all do triple dates sometime." She winked at me and gave me one of her signature Alice hugs.

"Alice, have you ever heard of the word knocking?" I asked her trying to keep as straight a face as possible.

"Oh Bella, please, you're not mad and you know it. I waited until the important moment was over before coming in." She moved to get off the bed and made her way towards the door. "I just wanted to give my congratulations. By the way Bella, I'll be getting you ready the day of this date." She smiled at me and exited the room leaving me with Edward.

"If she thinks she's playing 'Bella Barbie' she's got something else coming for her." I gritted out through my teeth. Edward chuckled and brushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

"She doesn't need to turn you into a Barbie, you're already so beautiful." I laughed at his cheesiness.

"So when are we going out on this date?" I asked him while playing with the hem of his t-shirt.

"Well I was thinking this coming Friday if that was okay with you. I'll be on campus most of the week but Friday is one of my easier days." He was running his hands gently through my hair smoothing out the tendrils.

"That sounds fantastic." Just then we heard a knock on the door and Carlisle stepped in.

"Bella, could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yeah sure Carlisle, what's up?" I asked him still locked in an embrace with Edward. I blushed slightly at the sight that Edward's father was laying eyes upon but he didn't seem to be phased by it.

"Do you mind if Edward stays? He can leave if you want this to be private. I have your test results." He held up a file in his hand and I felt my stomach drop. I hadn't even thought about the test results until now. I felt panic begin to settle in me. I had my suspicions about what was going on but I didn't think the odds were great of my fears were coming true. What I feared most happened in movies and not in real life. They didn't happen to girls like me.

"Edward can stay. He's going to find out eventually. How bad are we talking Carlisle?" I wanted him to just come right out and say it. I knew that the way my luck had been going the results inside of that manila folder were not going to be pretty so I was bracing myself for the worst.

"Bella I don't want you to become upset by this question, it's purely routine but was Phil your first?" He asked me pulling a chair over to the bed. Edward and I had sat up and were leaning against the headboard waiting for Carlisle to reveal what was in the results. It must not have been pleasant because of the grave look his face held.

"He was my first, yes, unfortunately." Carlisle nodded and pursed his lips slightly opening up the file to jot down a note.

"Bella, I'm afraid my suspicions were confirmed with your blood work. It's not going to be easy for you digest but I just want you to know that Esme and me are here for you as well as the rest of my family. Charlie and Emmett as well, they're going to do everything to support you." Carlisle had reached out his arm and was grasping my shoulder lightly.

"Carlisle can you please just stop prolonging this anymore. What's wrong with me?" I was getting restless and more worried with every passing second.

"I'm afraid that you've managed to conceive. Bella, you're pregnant." I felt my entire world come crashing down. Fresh tears were pricking at my eyes.

"I can't be…this has to be some sort of dream or…something. I can't be pregnant!" The tears began to spill over. Edward tried to take me into his arms to comfort me but I pushed him away not wanting to be touched right now. "This has to be some sort of joke. Maybe the tests were wrong or…or…they mixed my results up with someone else. I can't be pregnant. He's taken everything from me already!" I pulled my knees to my chest and began to rock back and forth.

"There are several options you have but I'm sure you already know that. I know that everyone here will support you in whatever decision you decide. I'll give you some time to think and you can let me know when you decide what course you want to take."

"I'm not killing the life inside me if that's what you're implying." I spoke at him more harshly than I intended.

"It is an option but I didn't think you would do that." Carlisle said gently. His eyes were filled with sorrow and pain.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so harsh." I apologized. He nodded his head in acceptance.

"I understand completely Bella, you've been put in yet another difficult situation. No one will be upset if you need to speak out." Carlisle stood from his chair and gave me one of his fatherly hugs before leaving the room. I turned my focus to Edward who had a glazed over look on his face.

"Edward, I understand if my current situation changes things. I'm sure that you have something to say right now but I ask that you hold whatever it is you are thinking for a little longer. Right now, I just need to be alone. I need to think." I asked him calmly. My voice quivered slightly as I thought about how Edward would leave me now that my own stepfather had knocked me up.

"Of course Bella. I'll be in my room whenever you need me." Edward kissed my forehead and moved to get off the bed. I felt the tears burn behind my eyes.

'_I will not lose it in front of Edward. Keep it together Bella.' _ My mind urged me to keep my tears at bay until Edward had left the room. It was like watching a slow motion picture as Edward made his way to the door. He froze for a second with his hand still on the doorknob. His head turned towards me.

"This doesn't change anything Bella. My feelings for you haven't changed at all." He whispered and with that he left the room closing the door tightly behind him. When I heard the lock click into place, I broke down sobbing. Why is it when my life was starting to look upwards, I get news like this? I don't understand how one person's life can go so wrong while those around them continue to be so cheerful. How is it possible that one person gets all the bad luck in the world? None of this made sense. I continued to sob thinking about the life that had currently taken residence inside of my stomach.

* * *

I had never pictured myself as a mother let alone a teenage mother. Yet here I was sitting with a major life changing decision to make. I could keep the baby, raise it myself, and hope that everything works out in the end. Or I could give it up for adoption and possibly never get to see my son or daughter grow. This baby may not have been conceived in love but I could show it love. I could teach it to be different from how this baby was made. Would I be a good mommy? I felt my hands instinctively make their way down to rest of my flat stomach. As if the life inside me could hear there was a small flutter. I gasped at the interaction and smiled. That right there decided everything for me. I would keep this baby. I would raise it with all the love and support I could manage. I may lose a lot of opportunities, like a chance of a life with Edward, because of it but that didn't matter. I was going to be a mom.

"It's just you and me." I whispered to the life growing underneath my hands and felt my world become slightly calmer. If I could survive years of abuse with Phil, I could most certainly survive being a teenage mom and raising this baby. I would do everything and anything to make this work. I had to. Phil may have taken everything away but in some weird twisted way he's given me a gift. He's given me my family back and he's given me amazing friends who support me through everything. And now, he's given me the one person who will become my rock; the one person who will be my reason for living. I smiled at that thought and snuggled deeper into my bed soon falling into the oblivion of darkness.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the lack of update last night, I decided at the last minute that I was just not happy with what I had written so I went back and rewrote it only be even more dissatisfied with it so in the end I ended up using the originial chapter. I'm still not entirely satisfied with it because this wasn't exactly what I had imagined. I hope that you guys can still enjoy the chapter even if it's not exactly what I was looking for. Most of you guessed right and well, it wasn't such a shocker when Bella was beginning to have the oh-so-fun morning sickness.

Also, thank you so much (I know I say this a lot but I really am appreciative) to everyone who reviewed. You guys have really come through and that means so much to me! Anyway, I hope you were not too disappointed in this chapter and that you enjoy it. I promise this story will start to take a turn soon. We've got a lot to look foward to with Edward and Bella and the rest of the gang. I'll probably post another chapter tonight sometime when I get back from work. Enjoy! Please do let me know what you think.

~Jess


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

When I awoke a few hours later my room was completely dark. I groggily looked at my alarm clock on the nightstand and grumbled when it read 8:30. I had slept the majority of the afternoon away. How was I managing to sleep so much yet still feel so tired all the time? I wiped the remainder of the sleep from my eyes and stood up from my bed stretching languidly. I chuckled to myself as I began to remember the dream. Edward had come into my room all nervous and everything and had asked me out to dinner this coming Friday and then Carlisle had come into the room to tell me that I was…

"Oh crap." I muttered to myself as reality clicked back in and I realized that everything I had previously thought was a dream was so not a dream. My tiny hands wrapped around my flat belly protectively. "It really is real. I'm really going to be having a baby." I whispered to myself still partly in shock. I heard a gentle knock on the door. "Come in."

"You're awake. I just wanted to check and see if you were okay. Do you want me to bring you some dinner?" Edward opened the door slightly and had popped his head. Did he still want to go on a date with me? I vaguely remember him saying that his feelings hadn't changed any even if he knew of my predicament.

"Edward, I'm sorry."

"What do you mean? There's nothing to apologize for."

"I'm sorry for all of this. I'm sorry for complicating your life. I'm sorry for…"

"You don't get to apologize for anything. None of this was your fault. Bella, you haven't complicated any of our lives. If anything, you have only managed to make them better. It's like you were the missing piece for all of us." He ran his hand down my cheek caressing it lightly. "We love you and that is all that matters. " He picked up my hand and gently placed a kiss on it.

"Why are you so nice to me? I don't understand. How could like someone so broken…so ruined like me?" I whispered looking into his emerald eyes.

"I thought we've been over this before. You were never damaged or broken or ruined. You are beautiful. You are the woman that has captivated my heart." He squeezed my hand and pulled me in for a gentle hug.

"Listen Edward, I know you don't think I'm broken but you can't not acknowledge the fact that I'm pregnant…with my step dad's baby. That in itself is something that even your calm nature can't handle. I understand if you want to cancel our date and I'm okay with that." I was attempting to hold back more tears.

"Would you listen to yourself? Having a baby doesn't make you incapable of being loved. It doesn't make you 'undateable.' It doesn't make you any less of a person in this world. If anything it makes you more beautiful of a person than you already are. Whether your decision be to keep this baby or to give it up for adoption it makes you more courageous than a lot of people on this great green earth." He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose like he always did when he was thinking hard or at a loss for words. "Bella, if it's alright with you I want to be there for you and the baby. I know we haven't known each other for very long but I feel this connection to you; it's so strong and it just pulls me in. I don't know what it is but it's there." Edward turned to face me grasping both of my hands in his.

"Edward I'm not quite sure what you're saying."

"Bella, we haven't really gotten to know each other completely. There are so many things that we don't know about each other but I've found my heart falling for you over these last few weeks. I think I've fallen in love with you. I want to share all of my firsts with you, my first love, my first time, my first and only wedding. I want to be a part of you and that baby's life…forever." He moved his hand down and set it on my non-existent stomach. I felt the same flutter I felt last night when I had made my decision to keep the baby.

"I…I don't know what to say."

"Just say that you'll give us a try. Just say that you'll at least let us attempt to work all of this out." His eyes had trailed down to my stomach; he must have felt the flutter too.

"I want to give us a try. I want nothing more than to be with you." I placed my hands over top of his on my belly. I saw his smile double in size and he actually looked like he was glowing.

"Can I try something?" He asked his voice barely above a whisper. His face had inched closer to my while he asked his question and I felt my breath coming in quick gasps as I anticipated what he was going to do next. I nodded my head unable to give an audible response. He looked into my eyes once before slowly crushing his lips on mine. We molded together perfectly and I felt an electric shock travel from his body to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he ran his tongue along my lower lip, tugging it gently between his teeth. My fingers had curled themselves into his hair as I tried to bring us closer together. When we separated both of us were panting for breath our foreheads locked together.

"That was…"

"Amazing." He finished for me. I nodded my head too out of breath to say much else. "Have you decided what you are going to do?" I nodded my head as I waited for my thoughts to clear.

"I'm going to keep the baby. It was not the baby's fault that it was conceived and I don't want it to be punished for something it didn't do. I already love this baby so much." Edward's smile, if possible, became even bigger. I laughed slightly at his goofiness.

"I'll be here every step of the way for as long as you want me." He placed another gentle kiss on my lips.

* * *

Friday evening had come all too soon. Just like Edward had said he was on campus majority of the week and away from the house. I missed him a lot but I understood entirely that being a pre-medical major wasn't exactly a cake walk. Charlie pretty much lived at the Cullen house as well even though he slept back at our house. It felt weird not living with Charlie but I understood his reasons for allowing me to live here; I was constantly surrounded by people my age and there was always someone to talk to should I need to break down. The day after Carlisle had told me I was pregnant I had sat the rest of the family down and explained everything to them. Charlie had pledged his unfailing support for his grandchild and me. Emmett at first wanted to go after Phil and rip him to shreds for turning me into a teenage mother but after a few minutes he calmed down enough to realize he was going to be an uncle.

Alice and Rose and I had become a lot closer over this week. Since all three of our boyfriends were away from us this week we had plenty of opportunities to bond in the ways girls bond. Alice had unsuccessfully tried to get me to play Bella Barbie. We had done a little shopping at a cute boutique in Port Angeles. It was at this boutique that we had decided on the most adorable outfit for my date Friday night. Edward refused to tell me where we were going but he did say to dress nice but comfortable.

It was just the three of us girls at the house early Friday afternoon and I had finally caved into Alice playing makeovers with me.

"Please, just allow me this once chance! I promise after this one I won't ever beg you to let me give you a makeover again."

"Yeah right Alice. I think that'll happen when hell freezes over." I joked flipping through the magazine on my lap.

"Puh-lease!" She begged kneeling in front of me with her puppy dog eyes.

"Fine! But just this once." I added pointing a finger at her. She jumped up immediately tackling me in a hug.

"Rose! She agreed!" She cheered. Before I could register what was happening, Alice had yanked me up the stairs and into her bedroom. Rosalie had laid out the simple outfit we had picked out a few days before.

"You are going to look drop dead gorgeous when we are done with you." Alice claimed as she pushed me down into a chair in front of her vanity. Her tabletop was covered in hair supplies and make up. I gawked at the amount of beauty supplies she had. How much did one girl need?

"Bella, would you be okay if I did your hair?" Rose asked me looking at me in the mirror. I smiled at her and nodded. Rosalie was fabulous with hair even if she did not completely admit it. Her grin widened even more when I allowed her to be my hair stylist for the night. We spent most of the three hours we had joking around and doing very little work but by the time it came time for Edward to come home and pick me up the girls had successfully finished their job. They had covered the bathroom mirror so that I wouldn't be allowed to see myself until I had the outfit on.

"Well Alice, I most certainly think we have done our job. If we fail at what we're pursuing now we can always open up our own beauty shop."

"Definitely Rose. Bella you look HOT!" Alice smiled at her handiwork. I shook my head and made to get up from the chair I had been pushed into.

"We'll be outside waiting for you. Don't even think about trying to peak at yourself while you're changing. Now hurry up so we can see what you think." Alice and Rose left to give some privacy as I changed. I was thankful for the fact that after the last few weeks all of my bruises had healed. The brace on my wrist was taken off a few days ago so I was officially injury free, at least for now. I pulled on the dark washed skinny jeans and pulled on the deep blue sleeveless top we had found along with the light grey cardigan. I felt comfortable in the clothes I was wearing but I was still confident that I didn't look like every day Bella. I stepped out of the bathroom and heard both Rose and Alice's sharp intake of breath.

"Bella, girl, you look stunning. I don't even know if stunning encompasses you right now." Rose piped her opinion in as Alice brought me towards the full-length mirror in her room. I gave her one last look before turning my head and staring at my reflection in the mirror. I felt my breath hitch as I looked. That could not have been me standing in the mirror. Rosalie had accentuated my natural waves and pulled them into a ponytail leaving all the right wisps of hair hanging out. Alice had flawlessly done my makeup making it appear as if I was wearing none at all. I felt the tears pricking at my eyes; stupid hormones.

"This can't be me I'm staring at. Is this mirror fixed or something?" I mumbled going around to check behind the mirror for the magic button that would turn my reflection back into normality.

"Bella, dear, that is you in all of your beautiful glory." I hadn't even heard Esme come in but there she stood at the door staring at me as well as Rose and Alice.

"Bella, don't cry! You're going to ruin my makeup job!" Alice pouted. I laughed slightly.

"You would care more about your makeup Alice." I mumbled. "Thank you so much girls. I don't even think thank you is enough. You have no idea how much this meant to me." Both of them ran over and hugged me tightly.

"I'm beginning to enjoy this whole having a sister thing, I'm so glad you came Bella." Alice whispered to me. Rose nodded her head in agreement.

"Bella, I have a little gift for you." Esme piped in walking over to us girls. She carried in her hand a tiny box. "It was given to me by my father on my 18th birthday and I wanted you to wear it tonight. That is if you wanted to." I took the box from her and opened it to reveal a beautiful silver necklace that had three blue gems lined up.

"Esme, this is beautiful. Thank you and of course I'll wear it." She picked it up out of my hands and placed it around my neck latching it securely.

"Now I believe that Edward is waiting downstairs for you." My smile brightened even more as all four of us made our way to the staircase.

"Thank you again, all of you. I love you all so much."

"We love you too." Esme spoke for all of them. When I made my way downstairs I saw Edward sitting on the couch his knee bouncing lightly as he waited for me to come down. He looked up immediately as he heard footsteps on the stairs and I could visibly see his breath catch in his throat. It took him a moment but soon he was standing at the foot of the stairs lending me his hand to step down.

"Bella…you look…words cannot even describe your beauty at this moment." Edward choked out.

"Oh you forgot shoes Bella." She handed me a pair of silver flats, which I quickly slipped on with a tiny bit of difficulty.

"Now you two have fun tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Alice pushed us gently towards the door. Edward grabbed my hand in his and walked me out to the car. He opened the door for me and helped me in before going to his own door and starting the car and driving away.

"Now will you tell me where we are going?" I asked him. He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips placing a gentle kiss on it and shook his head.

"That is for me to know and for you to find out." He gave me his signature crooked smile and focused his eyes on the road. "Can I just say again that you really do look fabulous? I had to pick my jaw off the floor when I first saw you." I found myself laughing maniacally at the mental image of Edward picking his jaw up off the floor.

"If you say so Edward. You look mighty handsome yourself." A comfortable silence fell over us as we continued to drive. We spent a few more minutes in the car before Edward pulled to a stop in front of a bunch of trees.

"You told me to look nice so we could climb trees?" I asked him entirely baffled about his choice of destinations.

"Silly Bella, we have to do a bit of walking before we get to our final resting place." He came around and opened my door helping me out of the car.

"You do know that I am the most klutzy person on this planet right?" I asked him in all seriousness. A playful smile adorned his lips as he nodded his head.

"I'll always have your back." He whispered in my ear. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I shuddered at his warm voice. He took my hand and guided me through the woods. We walked for a few minutes before we came to an empty clearing. I could hear running water and soon enough I saw an array of twinkling light adorning trees surrounding a crystal clear lake. There was a picnic blanket laid out along with a basket and some candles.

"Edward…" I choked out as I took in the scene before me. I couldn't hold back the dam of tears that had welled up in my eyes. I turned to face him completely as the tears began rolling down my face. "This is absolutely beautiful and is so much more than I expected." He gently wiped away my tears with the pad of his thumb.

"I wanted to do something special for you and something more than just a typical first date. I wanted this one to be memorable." Edward whispered bringing me in for a hug.

"Now I went and messed up my make up, I'm sure I look stunning now." I chuckled out swiping at the remaining tears and wiping under my eyes to catch any runny makeup.

"You look beautiful, seriously." I laughed at him. "Come with me really quick." He picked my hand up in his again and brought me to a ledge where he stopped bringing me in front of him. "I thought we could watch the sunset together before we start the festivities." We stood on the ledge as we watched the sky change from the blend of magnificent colors to a midnight blue. Edward had wrapped his arms around me at this point both to keep me warm and to make the moment more intimate. When the sun had finally crossed the horizon Edward gently pecked his lips on mine in a tender kiss.

"Let's go eat." He pulled me gently back to the picnic he had laid out earlier. We sat down on the blanket and he pulled the basket closer to us. "I tried to get your favorites but I wasn't entirely sure and Emmett wasn't either so I apologize if this isn't perfect." He pulled out a salad along with a bowl of pasta in a delicious looking red sauce. "I'll keep dessert a secret." I grinned at him as he unwrapped the salad and the pasta and served us both some.

"Edward, this is perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better first date, really." We sat in silence eating the delicious food that Edward had packed. A few minutes later we had finished and were putting our plates in the makeshift garbage bag that Edward had packed.

"What's for dessert?" He opened the basket back up and pulled out a white box that looked oddly familiar to me but I couldn't quite place it.

"Emmett told me a story about how when you were little these were your favorite things, specifically the ones from this bakery." Realization began to set in about this simple childhood memory and I blinked back the tears that were yet again forming in my eyes. Edward lifted the lid of the box to reveal two giant cupcakes.

"These are the ones from the bakery that my dad used to buy us on your birthdays." I whispered out as I took them in. Edward picked up one and handed it to me. I slowly unwrapped the sugary treat and took a bite savoring the familiar taste. "It's like bringing my childhood back to me."

"Emmett said these were your favorite so I figured it be a nice way to finish off dinner." He picked up his own cupcake and took a bite out of it getting a tiny bit of icing on his perfect nose. I giggled slightly and reached my finger out to wipe off the bit he got on his nose.

"Thank you Edward. This was truly a date I will never forget, ever." I whispered after we had finished off our dessert. My stomach was stuffed.

"It's not quite over yet milady." Edward pulled me to a standing position before pulling out a remote and hitting play. Soft music filled the air and he began to gently sway us.

"You really think of everything don't you? How are you so perfect?"

"I'm not perfect. I just want to make this night special for you."

"What did I do to deserve you?" I mumbled into his chest as I pulled us closer together.

"I think the better question would be 'what did I do to deserve you?' Bella, you mean everything to me. You're perfect." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine gently. We continued to dance for at least an hour. The night air became chilly and I felt myself start to shiver slightly despite the cardigan. Edward being Edward shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders and also pulled out a light blanket and wrapped that to around me.

"You think of everything." He chuckled.

"Let's get you back to the house so you can sleep." Edward picked the trash up and set the other blanket back into the basket and turned unplugged the lights from whatever outlet they were plugged into. We made the slight trek back to the car. I only managed to fall once but Edward was there to catch me before I hit the ground. The car ride back was filled with the gentle noise of our breathing and the soft music playing in the background. Before I knew it we were back home. It seemed as if everyone had gone to bed. I didn't even realize how long we were out there until now. Edward escorted me up to my room and opened my door.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" I asked him.

"Of course, just let me go and change into some comfier clothes real fast." I nodded and went into my own room while he disappeared behind his door. I changed out of the outfit and into some sweats and a tank top before making my way to the bathroom. I washed my face of the make up and pulled the fallen pieces of hair out of my face and into a new higher ponytail. I heard the door open and Edward come back in making himself comfy on my bed. After brushing my teeth I made my way back out to my room climbing in bed myself and snuggling into Edward's embrace.

"Thank you for tonight Edward. I'm always going to remember this night." I mumbled into his neck placing a light butterfly kiss.

"It was my pleasure Isabella Swan. I'd do anything for you. Good night my sweet Bella."

"Good night Edward." With those last words I found myself falling into sweet dreams of a life with Edward.

* * *

A/N: As promised here is another chapter for today. Sorry it took so long for me to post, I kind of got lost on a road trip with some friends while looking for a house. It was rather...interesting. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried to make it romantic yet not overly cheesy but I'm not sure if I succeeded in that department, of course, I'm sure you guys will let me know in some way. Bella and Edward's relationship will develop a lot from here on out. Also, I apologize if it seems that their relationship has moved into the fast lane, if you think it is, let me know I'll slow it down. One other thing, I noticed that Emmett and Charlie really haven't been major characters but I promise you that they will be eventually. Edward isn't the only one helping her through this difficult time.

Thanks again to all of you who added me to an alerts list or a favorites lists, I've seen a huge jump in the numbers and it makes me feel fantastic and makes me want to update this story twice as much! I really do appreciate all of your reviews, you guys have really come through for me and that means a lot. Keep it up! Enjoy this next chapter and I can't wait to hear what you guys think.

~Jess


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13**_

Things around the Cullen house had slipped into a routine. It seemed as if everything was finally beginning to look up for me. My pregnancy had progressed smoothly; there didn't seem to be any known complications at the moment and for that I was grateful. My belly had grown a slight noticeable bit and Edward found it extremely adorable. Carlisle had performed an ultrasound a few weeks ago and told me that he could identify the sex of the baby if I wanted to know but I quickly declined. I wanted to be surprised. Carlisle ensured me that the secret was safe with him and that he would not speak of a word of it unless I wanted him to.

In order to combat the expenses of a baby I had found myself a job at a local bookstore. The hours weren't overly long but being pregnant was definitely making me feel more tired than before. The owner of the bookstore was very understanding and eventually had me just working the register where I could sit down. He didn't want me causing any harm to the baby. I was sitting behind the counter on my stool reading a book when I heard the bell above the door ring signaling a new customer had walked in.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to…Oh hey Edward!" I greeted and hobbled my way over to the waiting arms of my boyfriend.

"Hey sweetheart, how was your day?" He embraced me tightly.

"Just the usual, I got some reading done though."

"How's the little munchkin?" He knelt down in front of me and placed his two giant hands on my belly placing a gentle kiss. He laughed when he felt the gentle flutter from the munchkin. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Nope and I am famished." Edward threw his head back and laughed and went to grab my bag and jacket from behind the counter.

"I guess it was kind of silly of me to ask. You are eating for two after all." I made my way to the back to say goodbye to Frank before meeting back up with Edward in the front.

"All set?"

"Let's go!" We walked out of the store hand in hand and began to walk down the sidewalk. "How were your classes today?"

"They were good. My embryology class is coming in handy. As your belly grows I'm learning about what's happening inside. Have you considered applying to college?" He changed the topic abruptly catching me almost off guard.

"I just don't have the money for it right now. And with a baby on the way…I just don't know."

"Hey, you know there are plenty of us willing to support you. If you want to go to college and study we will all stand behind you."

"Maybe, I'll look it up and see. It might be kind of nice to get back into my education and pursue something. I've always wanted to be a teacher."

"I think you should go for it. Seize the opportunity at hand." I giggled at him a little and we continued to stroll through Port Angeles. One of my hands was intertwined with Edward's while the other rested comfortably on the bulge that had become my stomach. As we walked we came up a small street fair that was in full swing. My stomach grumbled quite audibly as we made our way through the array of street vendors and attractions.

"Greasy food sounds so ridiculously amazing right now." I released Edward's hand and walked over to a street vendor that had caught my eye. "Feel like buying a pregnant woman a corndog?"

"Your wish is my command love. Two corndogs please." Edward handed him a bill and we continued our stroll as I devoured the greasy goodness.

"I think I have just died and gone to heaven." I moaned as I finished off the last of the corndog and threw my trash into a receptacle.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course." I twisted the cap off of the drink Edward had bought and took a sip from it.

"You know your birthday is coming up next week. It's a big one too, it's your 1-8."

"Edward you know I hate birthdays. I don't like the attention it puts on me."

"I know but you only turn 18 once! You know Alice is going to want to do something special for you. I can't imagine what Charlie and Emmett are going to be planning, they've missed so many of your other birthdays."

"Ugh, there's going to be no getting around all of them. What if I just disappear on my birthday so that no one has to celebrate it?"

"You know that's not going to work. Just let us do a small family get together or something; my family and your dad and brother. It'll be fun. Please?" He pulled his signature Alice look a like puppy dog face.

"Between you and Alice I can never actually keep to saying no. Fine! But nothing huge and no fancy stuff or I might just have to run out and hide."

"Thank you love. We all appreciate this a lot." He gave me a gentle peck on my forehead and pulled me from my position on a park bench we had rested ourselves on. "Let's get back home, I'm sure the family is worried."

"Sounds good to me." We walked back to where Edward had parked his Volvo and headed home. As soon as we pulled into the gravel driveway Alice came bounding out of the front door and ran up to us.

"Did you talk to her?" She bounced on her heels waiting with baited breath for Edward's response.

"She said that we can do a small family get together. Nothing fancy and nothing flashy." Edward told her and Alice responded with an ear piercing scream. Before long the rest of the family joined everyone out on the front deck.

"What's going on out here? Alice for the sake of all of our ear drums could please keep the shrieking to a minimum?" Carlisle said as he embraced Esme from behind.

"Sorry Dad, I'm just so excited because Bella said we could throw her a party!"

"Alice, let's get things straight here. I said we could do a small family get together, I did not say party." Alice's smile turned to a slight frown.

"Fine Bella if you so wish to deprive me of my wishes to throw you an elaborate eighteenth birthday party…" She sighed and walked off stomping her way into the house. The whole family and I began to laugh at disappointed Alice. We all walked back into the house and entertained ourselves for the rest of the night. I had gone up to my room to read a bit and to research this college idea that Edward kept pushing when I heard someone knock on my door.

"Come in." The door opened and in walked my dad. "Oh hey dad."

"Hey Bells. I just wanted to see how you were doing?"

"I'm fine." It wasn't completely a lie, for the most part I was doing fine.

"Bella, I was wondering if maybe you would go and talk to someone. You've made a lot of progress on your own but I feel like you're penting up emotions that don't need to be pent up. You haven't really talked to anyone about what happened." Charlie was kneeling in front of me with my hands in his.

"Dad, I'm fine. I don't need to talk to anyone." I scoffed at him.

"Bella, I would just feel a lot better if you talked to someone. Please?" I contemplated it in my head for a moment. It couldn't hurt me to talk to someone right? Maybe my dad was right and he is just looking out for me. I nodded my head.

"Okay, I'll talk to someone. What's the worst that could happen?" He smiled and gave my hands a light squeeze.

"Thanks. Now, how's my grandbaby doing?" He placed his hands on my distended belly.

"The little munchkin was fluttering away this morning." I was elated when my dad was so accepting of the fact that I was pregnant.

"Do you know what it's going to be?"

"I want to be surprised." He laughed and stood back up.

"You're just like your mother. She didn't want to know with you or Emmett. She almost cracked with Emmett but she held strong. I can't believe my little baby is going to be a mom."

"Me neither dad, I still wake up and keep thinking I'm dreaming."

"How are you and Edward? He's been so supportive of you. Does he know?"

"Wow Dad, you're certainly being very nosy today aren't you?" I laughed because my dad was never one to talk. "Edward and I are great and he's been so supportive of me. I feel like I don't deserve him. He's pure and I'm not. He should be with someone who isn't tarnished." I felt my hormones get the best of me as the tears pricked behind my eyes.

"Hey now, you deserve Edward just as much as he deserves you. You've taken a bad situation and turned it into a positive one. You deserve him and so much more." Charlie pulled me in for a hug and kissed me on my forehead. "So what does my little girl want for her birthday? I feel like I need to spoil you with all of the birthday's I've missed."

"You don't have to get me anything Dad. Just being here for me…you have no idea…I didn't think you'd want me. I thought I was going to have to be on my own."

"What do you mean sweetie?" Dad took a seat next to me on the queen sized bed.

"I mean that when I ran away from there…I thought you hated me, that you didn't want me. If you and the Cullen's hadn't taken me in, I'd probably be on the streets right now or back with Phil…or dead." I whispered the last part and buried my head in my dad's chest.

"I love you sweetie, more than life itself. You're my baby girl, I could never not want you." He stroked my back lovingly as he tried to calm me down.

"Did you ever find him?" I felt my dad tense up at my question and my stomach dropped at what his response would be.

"I had officers raid his house but there was no sight of him when we were there. He's disappeared. We are doing everything we can to find him though. He's never going to touch you again baby girl. He'll have to go through me before he ever lays a hand on you again." My dad placed a kissed on my hair as he continued to embrace me.

"I'm sorry daddy. I'm scared. What if he comes back? What if he hurts me or you or Emmett or the Cullen's? I'm putting you all in danger." More tears made their way down my cheeks.

"All of us are more than willing to stand up and fight for you. Don't worry about us." We sat in silence for a few more minutes. My sobs had quieted down to gentle hiccups. "Feeling any better?"

"A little. Thanks dad."

"Well, I've got to head down to the station for a few hours and see if we've made any progress with him."

"Okay dad, I'll see you later."

"I love you sweetie. Take care of yourself and I'll have Carlisle find someone for you to talk to."

"I love you too." He kissed me on my forehead and made his way out of my bedroom.

* * *

I hadn't seen much of my dad since our conversation a week ago. He had been holed up at the station trying desperately to search for Phil. I was worried about him. He was taking his work way too seriously; he was putting the blame on himself and was drowning himself in work to make up for it. At least today he'd be coming home and spending time with us. Today was my birthday and despite my protests Alice had managed to get away with at least having a small family get together that night.

Edward and I had fallen asleep early last night both exhausted from this week. The sunlight woke me early and I spent a few minutes just studying his perfect face. I committed every dimple and wrinkle to memory smiling when I found a cute little scar right below his nose. _'I wonder how he got that.' _I reached out to gentle run my finger along the scar when I saw a small smirk cross his face.

"Like what you see birthday girl?" His eyes opened and he sat up slowly stretching out the sleep in his limbs.

"How'd you get that scar?" I blurted out without even thinking.

"Your goofball of a brother actually gave me this scar. We were out in my backyard and Emmett being Emmett decided to chuck a bunch of rocks in my general direction and managed to clip me in my nose. I don't even know what he was thinking, I mean who decides they are just going to randomly throw rocks." Edward laughed at the memory.

"My brother is an idiot sometimes." Edward nodded in agreement.

"Happy birthday love." He whispered and he leaned down so our faces were mere inches apart. "Can I kiss you?" He whispered. My breathing increased tenfold and I nodded my head before his lips gently crushed down on mine. Alice chose that very moment to barge, yet again, into my room and plop herself on my bed.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs. "I need to get you ready for tonight. Come on!" She moved to grab my wrist but Edward stepped in.

"Alice, would you think about what you're doing before you do it?" Edward brought me into his arms to calm to slight panic that had taken over me." He rubbed his hands up and down my back gentle whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I silently thanked Edward for stopping a disaster waiting to happen. There was no need to go into a full out panic attack on my birthday. Now there would be a way to turn eighteen.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't even think about it." Alice apologized. I nodded my head and took in a few deep breaths.

"Can I have a few minutes to at least brush my teeth and make myself somewhat presentable?"

"Of course Bella but you better come to my room after you get breakfast. You're eating for two now and I want my little niece or nephew to be as healthy as can be." She gently patted my distended belly and stood up from my bed. "I'm sorry again Bella, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright Alice, I know." She closed the door behind her and I sighed into Edward. "Thank you for doing that. You saved me from a total freak out."

"It's what I do Bella. Now lets get up so you can get ready and we can celebrate." Edward pulled me up from the bed and gave me a hug before heading to his room to shower and get ready. I brushed my teeth and decided on showering later when Alice was playing makeovers with me. My stomach grumbled loudly so I made my way downstairs only to be hit with the most amazing smell. I followed the mouth-watering scent into the kitchen to see that Esme had whipped up an entire breakfast.

"Happy birthday sweetie!" Esme came towards me and held her arms out as a signal of what she wanted to do. I fell into her embrace and held her tightly.

"What's all this?"

"Whenever there's a birthday we always do a fancy breakfast. I didn't know what you're favorites were though so I made a little of everything." Esme led me over to the buffet of food she had prepared. There was French toast, waffles, pancakes, eggs and so much more.

"Esme…this is just…wow" I couldn't bring myself to say anything else. She handed me a plate that had been piled high with a little bit of everything. I walked over to the table to find Carlisle and Charlie both reading the morning paper. When I came over to sit down they both stood up and walked over to me. Carlisle embraced me first.

"Happy birthday Bella! How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm good, thanks." Charlie hugged me next.

"Happy Birthday sweetheart!" Charlie placed a kiss on my cheek and pulled out my chair for me. "Carlisle and I were just discussing some therapists that you could possibly talk to sometime soon. He thinks it would be a great idea."

"Okay dad, just tell me where to go and I'll be there." I gave him a small smile and started to pick at my food. I couldn't help but acknowledge the sinking feeling that was beginning to take over me. I didn't know if it was because I was nervous about how extravagant Alice's shindig was going to turn into or if it was because of something else. I was absentmindedly pushing at the food on my plate when Emmett startled me out of my reverie.

"Good morning baby sister! Happy eighteenth birthday!" He embraced my shoulders tightly. I let out a shriek and dropped my fork on the floor. "I'm sorry squirt, I didn't mean to scare you." I hadn't realized until now that most of the family had entered the kitchen. Rose and Jasper were even here to. By the time I had managed to calm my breathing down to a normal rate everyone had taken his or her seats at the table.

"So Alice, what exactly is the plan for tonight?" Emmett asked through a mouthful of waffle.

"Well, I made reservations at a restaurant. It's sort of classy so we all need to at least be dressed decently. That means no t-shirts Emmett. We'll probably need to pull of here around 4:30." Everyone nodded and proceeded to eat their breakfast. Edward noticed my quiet demeanor and gently grasped my hand under the table.

"Is everything okay love?" He whispered. I attempted a small smile and nodded my head.

"I'm fine." I whispered back. I took a couple more bites of the food and excused myself to go upstairs. I decided to take that shower after all. I couldn't shake the weird feeling that was taking over me. I made my way into my room and was getting some comfy clothes to wear for the rest of the day when I heard the vibration from my phone on my desk. I felt my stomach drop because anyone who would be texting me were downstairs joyfully enjoying a delicious breakfast. I hesitantly walked over to my phone and picked it up seeing the new message light on. My hands were shaking as I flipped open the phone and opened the text.

'_Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dearest Bella. Happy birthday to you. I can't wait to give you my surprise. I'm watching you." _

My shaking hands dropped the phone and I heard an ear piercing scream fill the room. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was the one screaming and that I had curled up into a ball on the floor and was gently rocking myself back and forth. Phil had found me. He was watching me. My heart rate and breathing increased as a full-fledged panic attack began to overtake me. I vaguely registered footsteps and voices before I succumbed to darkness.

* * *

A/N: So it's kind of a funny story that I have to tell you. I was experiencing major writers block last night when I was trying to write a new chapter for this story. I finally gave up at like 1 in the morning and went to sleep. Well, I guess the creative juices flow best when I'm sleeping because I had the most vivid dream that fit perfectly with the part that I was trying to write. It was the weirdest thing. It's like I could see my story unfolding before my eyes or dreams in this case. Anyways, just had to tell you that I've overcome the writers block thanks to my overactive subconscious.

Sorry for the delay in this chapter it's been a busy Monday and Tuesday here at school. I finally got a few minutes to breathe though thankfully. Thank you to all who reviewed, it means a lot and I love you guys for it! I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I'm going to admit that I couldn't think of a more shocking text to send. It kind of frustrated me as I was typing up this chapter, oh well, though. Don't forget to let me know what you think!

~Jess

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14 (Edward's point of view)**_

I left Bella to her own devices to go and shower in my own room. I was mildly embarrassed of the dream that I had last night. It was rather graphic and very unlike me. I made a quick exit from Bella's room to my own shower where I attempted to calm down my raging heart…and hormones.

'_Focus Edward. You can't let your hormones get the best of you or you are going to push Bella away. The last thing she needs is you pressuring her for something she doesn't want or need right now.' _I ridiculed myself for thinking such thoughts about Bella. She had been through enough emotional trauma and stress that she didn't need me pressuring her into having any sort of physical contact beyond kissing and holding hands and occasionally cuddling. I should be happy that she's even comfortable doing that. I jumped into the cold shower and willed away the teenager in me for Bella's sake.

* * *

After I had dressed for the day I decided to check on Bella's gift real quick before heading downstairs for breakfast. I peeked in on the neatly wrapped box to check that it was still there and then left my room. I could already smell the delicious scent of Esme's cooking. When I entered the kitchen I noticed Bella was acting a little weird; she was sitting at the table with her father and my father pushing her food around her plate completely uninterested. I saw Emmett moving to creep up behind her and was about to shout at him when he wrapped his thick arms around her shoulders sending her into a frenzy. I took that as my cue to take my place at the table next to her. She was still shaking slightly when I sat down and I sent a glare at Emmett.

"So Alice, what exactly is the plan for tonight?" Emmett asked through a mouthful of waffle.

"Well, I made reservations at a restaurant. It's sort of classy so we all need to at least be dressed decently. That means no t-shirts Emmett. We'll probably need to pull of here around 4:30." We all nodded our acknowledgement of Alice's directions and continued with eating our breakfast. I looked over at Bella who was still absentmindedly pushing food around her plate, completely disinterested. I reached my hand out under the table and gently tapped her hand before taking it into my own.

"Is everything okay love?" I whispered. She forced out a small smile and nodded her head. She was a horrible liar.

"I'm fine." She whispered back and let go of my hand. There was definitely something up but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. Maybe she was just nervous about Alice's get together with the family tonight. Bella wasn't one to thrive on attention. She stood up abruptly and excused herself to go shower. I looked down at her plate and noticed that nothing had really been touched. The family continued on in pointless chats until a ear piercing scream rang throughout the entire house. I was out of my chair before the rest of the family had time to even acknowledge. Charlie and Emmett were hot on my heels as I flew up the staircase three at a time.

"Bella!" I ran directly into her room just in time to catch her before she hit the ground. What was going on in here? She hadn't had an outburst in weeks. I cradled her to my chest and brought her over to the bed. Emmett and I began fussing over her limp form. When I looked up for a brief minute I caught Charlie who was bent down over the floor staring at her cell phone. His face had paled significantly.

"Charlie, what is it?" I walked over to where he was as Emmett continued to fuss over Bella. I looked down to what he was staring at and suddenly felt the rage overtake me. By this point Carlisle had come in and was checking over Bella which allowed Emmett and chance to come over to where Charlie and I were standing.

"That bastard! I'm going to rip his head off and tear him to pieces! How dare he even think to contact her!" Emmett was screaming and it took Charlie and I both to hold him back. "I'm going to kill him. Let me go!"

"Emmett you need to calm down. You're going to scare the living shit out of Bella if you don't. Calm down." I pushed against him harder. At the mention of Bella's name he immediately calmed and went to stand by where Carlisle was.

"How is she Carlisle? She's going to be okay right?" Emmett asked him as he started fidgeting with his hands. I went around to the other side and scooted next to Bella's limp form on the bed.

"She'll be alright. She just went into shock and her body reacted normally by passing out. She'll come to within in a few minutes." All eyes in the room turned toward the cell phone, which was still lying in Charlie's hand. "Is that what set her off?" Carlisle asked moving towards Charlie.

"That sick bastard had the nerve to contact her." Charlie's voice was low and menacing. I caught a slight movement out of the corner of my eye and turned back towards Bella who was stirring.

"Bella, love, can you open your eyes?" Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she had a terrified look on her face.

"I had the weirdest dream…it was my birthday and…" She trailed off as she looked at all of our grim faces. "It wasn't a dream was it?" I shook my head in response and Bella promptly threw herself at my chest clinging to me tightly as she sobbed. "He's going to kill me Edward. He's going to take me away and kill me."

"No one is going to take you away love. We are all going to protect you. You have nothing to be worried about. Please, calm down; take a deep breath. It's not good for the baby for you to be stressed like this."

"How can I not be stressed? There is a wild man on the loose coming to get me. He knows where I am! He knows how to contact me! My life is in danger!"

"Bella, you really need to calm down. If you want your baby to be healthy you need to breathe." Carlisle came back towards her and sat down on the bed pushing her to lie down again.

"I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm scared. I don't want anything to happen to you or to my baby. I don't want him to hurt any of you." She laid her head on my chest as her sobs quieted.

"I'm going to get your phone down to the station Bella. If we're lucky we can somehow trace his number to somewhere within a certain radius. I'm sorry sweetie, I know it's your birthday but the sooner the better."

"It's okay. I'd rather you find him then spend time with me. We can always celebrate later." Charlie placed a kiss on his daughter's cheek and hugged her. He was about to leave but turned back around and pulled out a box from his pocket. "I was going to give you this at dinner but since I may not be there tonight I guess I'll give it to you now." Charlie handed her the delicately wrapped box and Bella took it with shaking hands.

"Dad…I told you that you didn't have to buy me anything." She looked down at the box then back up at her father. I held her tighter to my chest as she continued to shake.

"I know but I wanted my little girl to have something special from her dad. I've never been able to give you that until now." He smiled down at her and prodded her to open it. She carefully tore through the purple wrapping paper to reveal a brown box. She pulled the top off and pulled out a beautiful crystal heart shaped necklace with another smaller heart made of gold inside. "When I saw it, I knew I had to get it for you."

"Oh dad…it's beautiful." I gazed down at Bella's face before my eyes trailed to the beautiful necklace her father had picked out. "This means so much to me dad really. Thank you so much. I love you." She removed herself from my grasp and went to hug her father in gratitude.

"I need to get going don't want to waste any precious time. I'll see you soon. Happy Birthday sweetie, I love you." Charlie swiftly left the room and we faintly heard the start of his engine and the wheels on the gravel as he pulled out of our driveway.

"We'll leave you two alone for a while. Bella, if you don't want to do a dinner tonight, we understand perfectly." Carlisle ushered everyone out of the room leaving Emmett, Bella, and me.

"How are you feeling squirt?"

"Honestly?" We nodded our heads. "Like shit. The one man who could come and turn everything upside down has made his presence known again. I'm scared out of my mind, more so for all of you and munchkin than for me." She cuddled back into my chest and I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"You've got nothing to worry about baby sis. If he comes near you, I'm going to pound his head into the ground." Emmett's fist pounded into his palm as he mimicked what he would do if Phil ever showed his face.

"We'll get through this love. I have no doubt about that." I assured her. Up until this point I had kept my mouth shut for fear or my anger being released. I didn't want to traumatize Bella. The three of us stayed in silence for a while longer as we lay on the bed.

"Do you still want to go out and celebrate tonight?" Emmett asked her.

"Not particularly especially since dad's not here." We nodded our heads in agreement.

"How about we cook you a birthday dinner here? We can all sit down in the family room and watch movies and just relax. We can do a big family birthday dinner another day." I proposed. The thought of just curling up on a sofa with Bella seemed extremely nice right now and I'm sure Bella would love the non-attention grabbing event.

"That sounds perfect."

"Great. I'll go tell the family downstairs and give you some time with Emmett." I kissed her on the forehead and gave her a brief hug before exiting the room myself. I made my way down to the kitchen where the rest of my family had gathered and were quietly whispering to each other about the situation that had just unfolded.

"I can put in a call and have the security system on the house updated. I'm sure Charlie is going to be sending a few officers up here to keep an eye on the house. She doesn't have to go to work right either. She's got plenty of support financially here." Carlisle was speaking quietly to Esme.

"Dad you can't expect her to hole herself up in the house. She needs normalcy. She needs to interact with other humans besides us."

"I know that son. I was only speaking of staying home for a few days just enough to let things quiet down a bit. I do not however want her leaving this house alone, I'm sure Charlie would agree with me on that."

"I think we all agree with you on that. Speaking of Bella, would it just be all right if we all stayed in tonight and cooked a birthday dinner and then watched movies? I think that might be the best idea right now." Everyone nodded their head in agreement except Alice who looked slightly peeved at the situation. "Don't even start Alice." I stopped her before she could even begin to rant.

"How is Bella doing dear?" Esme asked me her motherly side taking over.

"She's pretty shaken up but we all knew that. I think she'll pull through all right though."

"Carlisle this can't be good for the baby can it? I mean all the stress…" Esme asked.

"I'll need to monitor her more to make sure that the baby is not in distress. If she experiences anymore trauma there's an increased risk that she could lose the baby." Carlisle said sadly.

"We're not going to let that happen." I stated.

"Edward dear, how about you go ask Bella what she would want me to make her for dinner. She must be famished she didn't eat anything at breakfast this morning."

"I'll check on her in a little while and ask. She's spending some quality time with Emmett right now and I don't want to disturb them." I excused myself from the kitchen a little while later and made my way into my music room. I sat down at the piano and began playing the familiar melody. There were so many emotions coursing through my mind at the moment and I couldn't quite sort them all out. I was scared of losing Bella not just physically but also emotionally. I had to admit that despite the events that occurred only a few months before Bella had made significant progress emotionally and physically. I was afraid that Phil coming back into her life was going to throw her back to square one.

As much as I had tried to bury the rage that filled me I couldn't help but acknowledge it now that I was completely alone. This asshole had already managed to take away so much from Bella and now he was back for more. How sick can one person get? How can someone want to inflict so much pain one person purely for their sole enjoyment? I didn't understand. I continued to let my hands pluck out the chords of the song I had written for Bella as I continued to let my mind wander off. I don't care what I have to do. I would protect Bella and munchkin no matter what I had to give to do it. Phil would never lay a hand on her again and I would make sure of that.

* * *

A/N: Again, this is not one of the best chapters but to make up for it I'm going to try and post again sometime within the next couple hours, probably after I catch myself a late night dinner. Also, I think the way I'm going to be wanting this story to go, I think I am going to change the view point over to third person. It'll save me a lot of writing because I won't have to rewrite scenes twice from different points of views. If any of you have a problem with this please let me know! I may decide at some point to post some 'outtakes' perse later on from different character's perspectives but I'll come to that eventually. Let me know what you think of this idea. The next chapter that I post either later tonight or early tomorrow morning will probably in in third person point of view.

Thanks again to all the readers and reviewers. You guys mean the world to me and I do read everything you have to say! It makes me so excited to see a new review alert in my inbox. I know I feel like such a weirdo. Lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter even if it's not one of my best. I'll try and post something within in the next couple hours! Enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think.

~Jess


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

I was curled up on the couch with Edward. My head was lying comfortably in his lap and he was lazily running his fingers through my long tangled hair. He really knew how to calm me down even in the worst moments. Rosalie and Emmett had snuggled up together underneath a large afghan and were currently whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. Alice and Jasper had quickly gotten comfortable and promptly fell asleep midway through the second movie.

"Your sister and Jasper are looking pretty cozy." I whispered to Edward as we continued to stare at the television screen. My mind wasn't really registering much of movie; I was too caught up in thoughts of the events of earlier today.

"I'm not sure I entirely agree with the fact that one of my best friends is currently cozying himself up to my baby sister but I'll survive."

"You know that's probably how Emmett feels right now, right?" Edward nodded his head.

"Hey, if you think about it, you all are dating each other's sisters. Jasper is dating your sister, your dating Emmett's and Emmett is dating Jasper's."

"Yeah I guess it never really clicked in my mind." He chuckled a bit at the sudden realization that all of the boys had indeed gone for one of their best friends sisters.

"By the way Eddie, you break her heart and I break you." Emmett piped in after hearing our conversation about siblings.

"Shut up Emmett." I called out to him from my place on the sofa. He stuck his tongue out at me in a very childish manner and proceeded to suck face with Rose again.

"Are you feeling tired? Maybe we should get you upstairs so you can sleep. We can finish the movie another day." Edward was falling into his overprotective mode as he moved to lift us both off of the sofa.

"Edward, I want to finish the movie." I know I sounded like a whiny child but I really did want to finish the movie. It was giving me time alone with my thoughts without having to be completely alone. That was the last thing that I wanted right now was to be by myself in a room. Even with the knowledge that there were officers surrounding the property and that there were at least seven people in the house right now I still didn't feel entirely safe.

"Bells, you've had a long day I think you should go up and get some sleep." Emmett broke away from Rosalie and turned to me.

"Yeah Bella. We'll all be here in the morning." Rose piped in her opinion.

"Guys! I'm fine, really, can we just watch the stupid movie?" They all quickly shut their mouths with my sudden outburst. A semi-awkward silence fell over the room as we all stared absentmindedly at the screen. The door being swung open startled me from my thoughts. I turned to see my dad and immediately my heart began to calm.

"Hey guys, I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll be out of your hair shortly."

"Dad you looked exhausted." I whispered. He turned towards me and sighed as he rubbed his hands over his scruffy face.

"We did everything we could to try and trace the number or to at least get somewhat of a location on where the call was made from but we couldn't get anything; not with the technology we have in Forks at least. I'm sorry Bells." My dad came and sat by my feet picking them up gently before placing them in his lap. I sat up from Edward and scooted closer to my father embracing him in a hug.

"I know that you are doing everything that you can. I'm just glad that you're home right now and safe." I leaned my head down on his shoulder and wrapped my arms around him. He reciprocated slightly and relaxed against the sofa a bit. "Can I get you something to eat dad? You must be starving?"

"I'm okay Bella, I can get something for myself." I shook my head and stood up from the couch and started walking towards the kitchen.

"You stay right where you are, I'll go make you a sandwich or heat up some leftovers or something." Even though I was fearful of being in rooms alone I wanted to make my dad some dinner. He was doing everything he possibly could and more to find Phil and I had no other way of showing my gratitude towards him. I made my way into the kitchen pausing only once to calm myself down enough to find the light switch. The brightness from the kitchen lights caused me to wince at first but I adjusted slowly. I pulled out the containers from dinner and heated up some on a plate. I grabbed a drink from the fridge and made my way back into the living room.

"I didn't know what you wanted so I made a little of everything." I handed him the plate and placed the drink on the table in front of us.

"Thanks sweetie, you really didn't have to do that."

"Nonsense dad, you've been working hard lately and I wanted to show a bit of my appreciation." I sat down next to my dad and curled back up into Edward's side.

"You alright sweetie?" Edward asked.

"Yes for the millionth time. I'm as fine as I'm going to be considering the circumstances." I was getting frustrated with everyone always asking me if I was okay. These people needed to realize that until the man who nearly killed me a few months ago and who abused me for a chunk of my life was dead I was never going to be completely fine. Even if Phil was put behind bars I still would not feel entirely safe. I would always being looking over my shoulder. Edward's face fell slightly and I immediately regretted my outburst. "I'm sorry Edward, it's just my hormones."

"Well kids, I'm going to head up and sleep, it's been a really long day. Good night Bells and happy birthday. I'm sorry this birthday didn't exactly work out." Charlie stood up and picked up his plate and now empty glass.

"Dad you can leave your dishes, I'll get them. You go on and get some sleep. You look like you're about to fall over." I smiled at him.

"I can get my dishes Bells. You need to rest up more than any of us. I don't want my grandbaby to be anything but healthy." Charlie exited the room through the kitchen. I heard the water turn on as he rinsed off his plate and cup and then it was silent. We finished out the rest of the movie before Edward insisted that he take me upstairs and put me to bed. I huffed my way up the stairs frustrated that I was being treated like a child.

We walked into my bedroom and I went to the bathroom to relieve my bladder. This baby certainly knew how to make me need to use the bathroom at all hours of the day.

"Edward I'm going to take a shower." I called out to him from the bathroom.

"Okay, I'm just studying, take your time." I grabbed a towel from the closet in the bathroom and turned the shower on the hottest it would go. When I first stepped in my body protested but eventually I adjusted to the temperature. Within a few minutes my skin was already turning a bright pink. I picked up the sponge and scrubbed my skin hard increasing the redness of my skin. I couldn't control the outbreak of tears that suddenly overpowered me. I crumbled to the floor of the shower as I quietly sobbed.

My worst nightmares were coming true. Part of me was beginning to believe that Phil had decided to leave me alone and that things were finally taking a turn for the better. I don't know what led me to believe that however because that is just not the way my luck ever plays out. Phil was endangering my family, he was endangering my baby and I didn't understand why he wanted to. What did I ever do to him to deserve this hell? Why did Phil hate me so much that he wanted to cause me so much pain and torment? I didn't understand it at all. I sobbed harder and placed my hands protectively on my stomach.

I wasn't going to let Phil still anymore from me than he already had. He had ruined my life enough I couldn't allow him to ruin it anymore. If Phil were to hurt me again in any way…I don't know what I would do. I don't think I would survive it.

"Bella, love, are you alright? You've been in there for almost an hour." Edward knocked on the door lightly.

"I'm…I'm fine." I chocked out. I quickly turned the water off and grabbed the towel off the counter. My skin was raw from being scrubbed and was a screaming red color from the heat of the water. I toweled myself off gently wincing every so often when I came to a particularly tender spot of skin. I dried my hair and pulled it up into a messy bun and after getting dressed I made my way back out to the bedroom and curled up under the covers.

"Bella! How hot of a shower did you take?" Edward exclaimed gently rubbing his hand over my reddened face.

"I just needed to relax. I'm fine."

"You are most certainly not fine. I know today has been rough but can you please tell me what you are thinking? I can't help you if I don't know what's going on?"

"I'm just…I'm scared Edward." I rolled back over to face him laying my head on his chest. He immediately closed the textbook he had been reading and wrapped his arms around me.

"You have every reason to be scared but just know that we're not going to let anything happen to you."

"My dad can't find him but he knows how to find me."

"We don't know for sure if he knows where you are."

"And that could also be wrong, he could be watching us right now. He could be planning to attack right now. What if I wake up in the morning and I'm not in your arms but instead I'm in some dark place alone with Phil?"

"I won't let him take you. He is not going to touch you." He wrapped his arms tighter around me and kissed the crown of my hand. "I'm scared too Bella. I'm scared that I'm going to lose you whether it be physically lose you or emotionally lose you or even both. I'm scared that if something bad were to happen, God forbid, you or munchkin would be hurt." He placed his hands delicately on my ever-growing womb. "I'm scared that everything we have worked for is going to go to shit." His voice cracked on the last part of his sentence and I could tell he was crying. I turned around in his embrace and wiped my hands across his cheek brushing away the tears.

"Edward, you could never lose me. I'm scared that you're going to be the one to leave me one day. That eventually you are going to realized that I come with too much baggage for you to handle and leave me. Or that Phil is going to hurt you and take you away from me forever. I…I…I love you." I whispered out. Edward's face turned to that of shock. He pulled my face closer to his and captured my lips in a passionate kiss.

"I love you so much Bella. You have no idea. I've loved you since the day Emmett and I found you on their porch step." He placed a kiss on my forehead. "I love you so much and I love munchkin too." We continued to lay like that silently crying to ourselves. Eventually my eyes became heavy and I fell into a blissful oblivion wrapped in the arms of the one I love.

* * *

A/N: So I apologize, I said I'd update early morning and well this is going up at 3:30 in the afternoon. The baby however did not want to go down for a nap (she's teething) and it made it very difficult to write and get this posted. But alas, I finally managed to succesfully post and update and hopefully I'll be able to get another one up tonight.

So I also decided that while I was writing this chapter that the third person poing of view would not work. It just did not feel write when I was writing it so I reverted back to writing from different character's point of view's. I hope you don't mind. Anyways, I'll stop babbling and get on with the next chapter. Enjoy this one and remember to please let me know what you think! It really does keep me going and I try to reply to as many reviews as I can! Thanks!

~Jess


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16 (Edward's Point of View)**_

It had been months since Phil's text message to Bella. Charlie and the officers down at the police station still had not located him but at least he had not contacted Bella again. We waited a few days after her birthday to allow Bella a little freedom by venturing out into the outside world but even then our guards were high. After the first month we slowly started to return to our normal routines. Bella was allowed to venture to work by herself even though majority of the time I insisted upon driving her. Bella's pregnancy had progressed beautifully as well. Her stomach had grown quite a bit and now Bella had that pregnancy glow. I looked up from my position on the couch to see Bella carefully waddling her way down the stairs. Her enlarged stomach looked so out of place on her tiny frail form.

"Are you all ready to go sweetheart?" I asked her as I stood up from my place to help her down the rest of the stairs.

"Yeah, I just need to grab my bag."

"I'll get it, just stay right here." I went into the kitchen and retrieved Bella's bag from its usual nesting place. When I walked back out Bella was sitting on the stairs waiting patiently. I grabbed her hand and pulled her up to a standing position being sure to steady her before completely letting go. Bella had always been a klutzy one I quickly learned but being pregnant seemed to increase her klutziness tenfold.

"Let's head out then." We got into the car and I pulled out onto the main road headed towards Port Angeles. The roads were somewhat slick from the recent snowfall so I took the turns with extra caution. It wasn't long before I was pulling up in front of the bookstore and I was helping Bella out of the car. She waddled her way to the door where I quickly spun her around and crushed my lips on hers.

"What was that for?" She asked me breathlessly as she went to grab her bag from my hand.

"It's just because I love you so much." I kneeled down in front of her. "I love you too little one. I can't wait to meet you." I placed a kiss on her belly and smiled as she giggled.

"You're so silly sometimes you know that Edward." Bella had opened up a lot more recently. She still kept to herself quite a bit but for the most part the bubbly and bright Bella was shining through.

"Have a good day at work love, I'll be by to pick you up later tonight." I kissed her quickly again and opened the door for her. She turned back around and smiled one last time at me. I waited until she had disappeared into the backroom to turn around quickly and move my car to another parking lot. I had to pick up a package that I had preordered with the help of Carlisle and then make it home in time to have a serious conversation.

I walked quickly into the store and rang the bell at the counter.

"Can I help you sir?" An older gentleman addressed me.

"Yes, um, I'm here to pick up a package."

"Name?"

"Edward Cullen."

"Ah, I'll be right back sir." He gave me a knowing look and walked into the backroom. Shortly after he had disappeared he walked back to the counter with a small package in his hand. "Here you are Mr. Cullen, is that all I can do for you." I kindly smiled at the man.

"Yes, thank you very much for your assistance."

"Good luck young man." He waved me goodbye as I exited the store and made my way back to the car. I climbed in and sped back towards the house. When I arrived Alice anxiously bounced up and down in front of the door.

"Can I see it? Please let me see it?"

"Not right now Alice. You're going to be the one to spoil the surprise if I let you see it."

"I will not let the secret out! Have a little bit of confidence in your sister."

"Yeah right Alice, when pigs fly." I pushed past her and ran into my room quickly hiding the box deep in my closet in a place where no one would find. On my way out of my room I bumped into my father who was gathering things to head to the hospital.

"Did you pick it up?"

"Yes I did and now it's all squared away where no one will find it until it's time."

"Good, son. I'm really proud of you. You've been a rock for Bella even when you didn't have to be. You've shown a lot of courage and maturity."

"Are all the arrangements in place?"

"I'm working out one last minor detail but everything else should be set up. For the plane tickets, do you want to get there before midnight on Christmas?"

"I'd like for it to be before Christmas is officially over but if it complicates too many things, I'm sure we can deal."

"I'll see what I can do to make it happen. Other than that, everything else seems to be in place. I'll give you a final confirmation a few days before."

"Thanks so much dad, you've been a huge help in all this. I didn't know where to start at first to get this all arranged in time. You don't think she'll be mad will you?"

"I don't think she'll be mad after everything you've planned. She'll love it just as much as she loves you." Carlisle patted my shoulder assuring me that everything would go as smoothly as possible. "I need to be getting to the hospital. I'll see you tonight for dinner." He raced down the stairs and out to his Mercedes.

* * *

When I made it down the stairs finally, Emmett and Rose were curled up on the couch enjoying each other's company. I sat down and rubbed my temples gingerly feeling a headache begin to take over.

"What's up Eddie?" Emmett grinned like a Cheshire cat after using a nickname he knew I despised.

"Emmett, don't call me Eddie."

"Aw, come on everyone has a nickname except you!"

"Edward will do just fine thank you."

"Whatever spoilsport. What are you up to this fine afternoon?"

"I actually need to speak with your dad sometime. Is he coming home anytime soon?" As soon as I finished my question the front door opened and in walked a sullen looking Charlie. He had been spending hours upon hours at the station. When he wasn't at the station he was spending as much time as he could here with Bella. She had moved in here temporarily because Charlie was too afraid to leave her home alone and at least here she was surrounded by plenty of people her age. I began to wonder how long it had been since Charlie had actually been home.

"You were looking for me Edward."

"Oh yes, I was wondering if I could speak with you about something important concerning Bella."

"Yeah of course. What's up?"

"Can we go into the kitchen?" He nodded and followed me into the kitchen where I took a seat at the table. "Chief Swan…Charlie, I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love your daughter. I love her more than life itself. I know that we've only been dating for 6 months but I honestly feel as if she is my other half. There's a connection between us that I can't quite explain but I know that it's there."

"You make her very happy Edward and I am glad that she's found you." He began eyeing my suspiciously as I thought about the next words to say.

"She's going to be having the baby soon and I want to be able to fully support her in every way that I can."

"That's very kind of you Edward but you do realize you do not need to take on that burden at the ripe age of 19 right?" He cut me off with his question.

"Yes sir, I realize that. I love Bella however and I don't plan on ever being with anyone else. Charlie, I want to marry your daughter and I was wondering if I could have your permission to ask her to be my wife?" Charlie's eyes widened significantly after I finished my statement. "I understand that we've only been dating for six months but like I said I want to provide for her in every way I can. I love Bella more than words can express and I assure you that I will take care of her forever."

"Wow, Edward, I have to admit I was not expecting you to be wanting to discuss this. I'm not going to lie, you and Bella are fantastic together. You make her happy and calm and relaxed and you bring back the old Bella." He paused for a moment collecting his thoughts. "Are you sure about this? Marriage isn't a little thing, it's forever."

"I'm absolutely one hundred percent sure." I nodded my head once to assure him further.

"Edward I can't think of one reason to not give my blessing. Like I said you've been nothing but caring towards her. I have no doubt you'll take care of my little girl. I'm just afraid that you aren't entirely sure what you are getting into. You're only in college."

"I understand sir. It's not going to be an easy road but at least we can support each other. Plus, with the baby coming in three months, I want her to know that I'm here for her forever."

"You're a good man Edward. You didn't have to love my daughter the way you do but you did. You didn't have to comfort her at night when she couldn't get back to sleep but you did. You didn't father the child inside of her belly but here you are wanting to a father to it. I admire your courage. You have my blessing in every way."

"Thank you so much sir." I shook his hand in gratitude.

"Can I ask when you plan on popping the question?"

"I plan on asking her on Christmas. My dad has been helping me with the plans."

"Where are you going to do it?"

"I know that it's kind of corny but I was planning on taking her to Disney World. Carlisle has arranged so that the park will be open only for us late that night on Christmas."

"Wow." Charlie had no other words to my plan.

"If all goes well, you all will be flying down there a bit earlier and will actually be in the park to witness the whole thing."

"You have quite the shindig for your proposal don't you? Bella is going to appreciate it so much."

"I sincerely hope so Charlie." He clapped me on the shoulder.

"Have you found the ring?"

"I just picked it up this morning."

"Can I see it?"

"Of course, I've hidden it in my closet. Come with me." He followed me upstairs and we both ventured into my closet. I dug around in the secret hiding spot until I felt the small box I had picked up this morning. I opened the lid and revealed the elegant but intricate diamond engagement ring I had found.

"Edward…that is gorgeous." Charlie delicately picked up the ring from the box and held it up to the light.

"It's a half a carat set in a platinum band. Carlisle helped me pick it out."

"This is a ring made for Bella."

"I thought the same thing myself." Charlie placed the ring back into its place in the box. I quickly put it back in its hiding place to assure its security. We made our way out of the closet and into my bedroom again.

"Does anyone else know besides you me and Carlisle?"

"Alice knows but only because she figured it out after overhearing Carlisle and me speaking about it one afternoon. I plan to speak to Emmett later on tonight after Bella goes to sleep." Charlie nodded his head and we both made our way into the living room to rejoin Emmett and Rosalie in the movie they were watching.

* * *

A/N: So I apologize for this late update but it's a Friday night and I decided to catch up on sleep. I also went out and saw Paranormal Activity and just about peed my pants. Also, I got some bad news today. My hometown is in Leesburg, Virginia and well I found out that the Twilight cast is coming to Fair Oaks Mall which is like 10 minutes from my house. I however, will be here in Oklahoma bogged down with homework and overworked. Just my luck, right? Oh well, I guess there'll be other times.

Well, this one is kind of sort of a filler chapter but I hope you enjoy it. I know that it's a bit soon but like Edward explained, he wants the baby to have a daddy and Bella to feel like she has someone to rely on other than her family. I'll post another update soon but today is going to be chaotic for me. I better get to sleep, it's almost 4 in the morning and I have to be up at 8:30. Oh joy! Enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think. I love you guys for all the reviews. I really do appreciate everything you have to tell me. Enjoy and thanks again!

~Jess


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17 (Edward's Point of View)**_

After Bella had fallen asleep that night I quietly tip toed out of the room and snuck down to Emmett's room.

"Hey Em, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah man, what's up?" He patted the seat next to me and picked up a second controller. "Feel up to a game or two?"

"Heck yes!" I gratefully took the controller from Emmett and plopped down next to him on the couch.

"So what's up?" He started the game and we both stared intently on the screen in front of us. I was only half paying attention to what I was doing and Emmett was kicking my butt as a result.

"I kind of wanted to talk to you about Bella." He paused the game and turned to face me completely.

"What about her?"

"Well…I love her, a lot." He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"I think the world already knew that you love her. She's a totally different person when she's around you."

"I want to marry her." I whispered out. Emmett processed the words that had passed through my lips.

"Did you just say…that you want to marry my baby sister?" He asked incredulously.

"I want to ask her to marry me."

"Dude, you want to marry my baby sister!"

"Yes Emmett, I want to marry your baby sister."

"You know, typical older brother rules mean that I have to like beat the crap out of you now right."

"Yes but I was hoping that we could skip that part because we've been bro's for so long now."

"I guess that since I know how well you treat my sister I can skip over that part of the older brother contract." He pondered something for a moment. "But if you so much as put one crack on that little heart of hers I'm going to kick your ass from here to next year." He threatened menacingly.

"I couldn't hurt her even if I tried." Emmett nodded and resumed the game. We played in silence for a few minutes.

"So you are really going to ask her to marry you?"

"That's the plan."

"Wow." Was all he managed to say. I stood up from my place after we had finished a round of the game and made my exit.

"I better get back to bed. Bella has had a nightmare in forever but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll see you later Emmett. Good night."

"Good night bro and remember what I said. I mean it, hurt her and I hurt you." He made pointed at me with his two fingers and then to his own eyes to signal that he would be watching. I smirked to myself and made my way down the hall to Bella's bedroom. I walked into the room and stared at the beauty lying in the bed. Bella had the blankets strewn everywhere and her body was awkwardly but still beautifully lying there. Her large baby bump was sticking up making me chuckle to myself. I moved my eyes to her beautiful face and felt myself take in a sharp breath. She looked so peaceful. There was a small smile playing on her lips as she continued to dream. I moved from my place by the door and changed into a comfier pair of pants before climbing into bed and wrapping my arm around her ever-growing waist.

"Good night mi amore." I kissed her cheek lightly and fell into a deep sleep myself.

* * *

When I awoke in the morning the other side of the bed was empty. I groaned as I sat up and stretched. I had a long day of classes today and I wouldn't get to see Bella much until this evening when we were both home. Even then however I may not get to see her, I had a huge test coming up before we let out for Thanksgiving break. I quickly showered and dressed for the day and grabbed a backpack with the books I'd need for the day. As I came to the bottom of the stairs I saw Bella perched over the stove cooking something that smelled entirely too delicious.

"Good morning love." I kissed her on her hair and she smiled up at me.

"Good morning. Are you hungry? I figured you'd need something decent to make it through today." She piled up a plate with toast and eggs and bacon and a waffle and sent me to sit down.

"Thanks so much, you didn't have to do this. You really shouldn't be standing on your own two feet for too long."

"I'm fine Edward. Cooking breakfast every once in a while isn't going to kill me."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Emmett and Rose left for their class really early, something about a study group. Alice and Jasper went out to breakfast. Your dad is asleep I think after working the night shift and your mom had to go to a house consultation." She forked another mouthful of food into her mouth.

"What time do you need to be at the bookstore?"

"In about a hour. Is that okay? I can go by myself."

"No it's fine. I can drive you. My first class isn't for another hour and a half anyway. We'll head out after we're done eating. Are you all ready to go?"

"Yeah. Are you sure?"

"It's fine Bells, you shouldn't be driving anyway."

"Has anyone ever told you that you can be way overprotective sometimes?"

"I'm just looking out for the two people nearest and dearest to my heart." I rubbed my hand on her belly and smiled up at her with my cheesy grin.

"Ok Edward, whatever you say." She chuckled to herself and finished off the rest of her plate. I took her dish and put it in the dishwasher along with mine and grabbed both of our coats off of the rack.

"Let's get going." We walked out to the car hand in hand and I helped her into her seat. It wasn't long before we were pulling up outside of the bookstore. I climbed out of the drivers seat and helped her stand up out of the car before walking her to the door. "Have a great day at work love. I'll pick you up tonight?"

"Yeah what time are you done with classes?"

"I'll probably be done around 6 is that alright?" I placed a peck on her lips and she nodded her head. "Sounds good, I'll be here at around 6:20 then." I kissed her again and opened the front door to the bookstore for her watching her walk in and make her way to the back. After I was positive that she had safely made it inside I climbed back into my car and drove off towards campus. I had four classes and they were going to be long and grueling. I dragged my way towards the science building and made it just in time for my Anatomy and Physiology class to begin.

* * *

Four hour long classes and one three hour lab later, I was finally making my way back to my car and on my way back to the bookstore that Bella worked at. I couldn't help the excited feeling that was suddenly overtaking my system. Bella brought out a side in me that I never knew existed.

When I turned onto the small street there were flashing lights and caution tape marking off the road. I felt my stomach drop when I saw the number of police cars that had piled outside the very building that I had dropped Bella off in. I quickly pulled the car over into the nearest parking space I could get and barely managed to pull the car in park before sprinting towards the scene.

"I'm sorry sir I can't let you past here." A burly officer stopped me before I had managed to cross the yellow caution tape.

"You don't understand officer. My girlfriend worked in that bookstore. She's almost 6 months pregnant. Is she in there? Is she okay?" I was beginning to panic because I could not find Bella amongst the chaos that had erupted outside of the bookstore.

"I'm sorry sir I cannot let you through. I will however bring you over to Detective Black and maybe he can answer some questions." He lifted the caution tape and led me over to where a very burly man was standing questioning whom I recognized as Frank.

"Frank! What happened? Where's Bella?"

"I'm sorry Edward. I don't know. A man came into the store…more like barged in…" Detective Black cut him off.

"Excuse me but who are you?"

"I'm Edward Cullen…Bella's my girlfriend."

"Dr. Cullen's son?"

"Yes sir, he's my father."

"Sorry I didn't mean to cut you off Frank."

"It's okay Detective. Anyways, this man barged in yelling obscene words. Bella was cowered in a corner so I ran over to her and tried to reason with the man but he punched me hard in the face and that's the last thing I remember. I'm sorry Edward. I tried…I don't know what that man would want with Bella."

"It's her stepfather. He threatened her about 3 months ago. He abused her for many years before she finally ran away and she's been living with us. Chief Swan will know everything about what is going on, he's her father as well. She's pregnant."

"We've got every cop in town blocking off the roads out of here. Hopefully we weren't too late in blocking the exits. Unfortunately no one really saw anything and Frank here only can recount so much."

"Her stepfather is crazy in the head. He could hurt her; he could kill her. Please Detective Black you need to find her."

"I can assure you that we will do everything that we can. Chief Swan won't let this bastard get away." My world was beginning to spin as I took everything in. Bella was gone. No one knew where that asshole had taken her. She could be hurt. She could be dead. The baby…what about the baby? My knees gave out and I crumbled to the ground as the tears began to spill from my cheeks.

"I have to find her. I promised to protect her and that I wouldn't let him lay a hand on her again." I began to rock slowly as more sobs racked my body.

"Edward, let's get you over to a chair and I'll call your father." Detective Black hoisted me up off of my spot on the ground and led me over to the ambulance that had been called in for Frank. Detective Black pulled out his cell phone and was asking me for Carlisle's number.

"I'll do it…I'll call him." I composed myself a bit and then stood up albeit shakily and made my way over to a more secluded area. After two rings Carlisle's voice rang through the earpiece.

"Hello?"

"Dad, it's Edward…something…something's happened to Bella. Phil…he got her." I felt the tears coming again and I choked back sobs as I conversed with my father.

"What do you mean he's got her? Where are you?"

"I came back from my classes to pick Bella up from work and when I got there the road was blocked off and there were police cars everywhere."

"Do they have any idea where they could've gone? Were there any witnesses?"

"Frank was there when Phil came in but Phil knocked him out so he doesn't know what happened. Other than that no one saw anything. What if she's hurt? What he hurts the baby?" I was beginning to panic again. My chest was tightening and my breathing was becoming ragged.

"Son, you need to calm down. We're going to find her. Everything is going to be all right. We will find her." Carlisle was determined. "Come home, son. I'm leaving the hospital now and I'll call the rest of the family and have them meet us at the house. Does Charlie know yet? They may not have told him yet because it's his daughter."

"I don't know Dad, he's not here. I don't know where he is."

"I'm sure they've been trying to keep him away from the scene."

"I'll call him and find out where he is."

"Okay, we'll see you at home. Be safe."

"See you at home." I ended my call with Carlisle and quickly punched in the numbers for Charlie's office phone.

"Chief Swan speaking how may I help you?" Charlie's voice cracked and the thickness of emotion was present in his voice.

"Charlie, it's Edward."

"Edward! Do you have any idea where she is? They won't let me go down to the scene to look." His voice became panicky as he spoke to me.

"I don't know sir, I honestly don't know. Carlisle is having everyone in the family go home so we can sit down and talk out a plan. We know more about the situation than the cops so maybe we can figure something out."

"I'm on my way. I'll see you guys there." I hung up without another word and sprinted back to my Volvo and jumped in. I said a silent prayer to God that Bella would be all right and that no harm would come to her or the baby.

"Please God, please let us find her. Please let her be safe. She doesn't deserve this." I pulled into the driveway a short time later and made my way into the house. Everyone was sitting in the great room with a sullen look marring their features.

"Have you heard anything new Edward?" Alice asked me anxiously from her spot on Jasper's lap. She had tearstains on her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy.

"I haven't heard anything more than what I found out at the scene earlier." I whispered and took my place on the loveseat, feeling empty without Bella's presence. There was a gaping hole in my chest where fear had overtaken.

"Were you able to get a hold of Charlie?"

"Yeah he's on his way here. They weren't allowing him down by the bookstore like you said." Carlisle nodded his head and embraced a sobbing Esme. A thick silence fell over the great room as we waited for Bella's father to join.

* * *

A/N: So this chapter has been done for a while but do to extenuating circumstances, I have been unable to post it. At least for today. It's finally up however and I'm already hafl way done with the next chapter. If I finish it before I leave the station tonight I will most certainly post it.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter. The drama is finally unfolding so get excited. I think we all knew Phil was going to make a reappearance at some point it was just a matter of time. Enjoy this new update and let me know what you think! Thanks and I love you all!

~Jess


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

Edward had dropped me off only a few short minutes ago and yet I was missing him so much already. The baby must have either felt how I was feeling or was also missing Edward an immense amount. The little munchkin was kicking away at my abdomen like there was no tomorrow.

"It's okay little one, daddy will be back soon." Ever since Edward and I had begun dating I had been comfortable when it came to referring to him as "daddy" when it came to my baby. He may not be the actual genetic father of the baby but he was more than willing to be the father.

"Hey Frank." I set my bag down in the little cubby in the corner that had become my little personal shelf.

"Good morning there! How's that little baby doing?" Frank had become almost like a grandfather to me. He treated me more like family than an employer.

"I think the baby may be missing Edward. Munchkin is moving around like crazy." He chuckled and stood up from the desk he was sitting at.

"You need to stay off your feet today alright? I don't want you getting up and moving around unless it's completely necessary. I want that baby healthy as can be!"

"I'll try not to move around as much."

"Edward's been telling me about your elevated blood pressure so I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Of course Frank, anything for the baby." I waddled my way out to the front of the store and took my usual spot behind the counter where Frank had set up a chair for me to sit in. Mornings were typically very slow at the bookstore and business didn't really begin until after school let out around the area. Normally at this time I'd be shelving books that were returned or that people had accidently misplaced. Instead I picked up my old and tattered copy of Wuthering Heights from under the register and picked up where I left off.

I had only been reading for less than an hour when I heard the familiar tinkle of the bell that was hung over the door.

"Good morning and welcome to…" All of the color drained from my face as I stared into the eyes of the man that I had loathed for almost my entire life. "What…what are you…doing here?" I managed to stutter out after I got over the initial shock of seeing _him _standing in front of me.

"Well I am here…to claim…what is rightfully…mine." He slurred out. He was so obviously drunk; drunk may even be a major understatement in this situation.

"I don't belong to you Phil." I spat out. Before I knew what was happening Phil had managed to backhand me from my spot behind the register.

"Don't talk to me like that bitch! I taught you better." He seemed to have sobered up enough to scream out that statement at me. Frank must have heard the commotion because suddenly he was in front of me.

"What is the name of all that is holy is going on out here?" He asked. Frank had placed his body in front of mine temporarily shielding the baby bump that Phil still had not acknowledged or seen. Out of the corner of his eye Frank must have seen the bright red mark that was now marring my left cheek. "Are you okay Bella?" I nodded my head too afraid to speak.

"I am here to take that bitch back home with me. She ran away a few months ago and I've come to take her back."

"I think you need to leave now sir. I'm going to call the authorities if you don't leave the premises." Frank stated firmly holding his ground. Phil took a step closer to him and I shrieked as he decked him in the face. Frank's body crumpled to the ground and my tears began to fall faster.

"Oh look at that my little slut is pregnant…" Phil smiled his disgusting smile at me. "Not for long." He grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door. I flailed my arms and kicked my legs and screamed at the top of my lungs but no one was around the hear me. Phil's hand cracked against my skin as he slapped me again.

"Shut up. If you don't keep your mouth shut and do everything I'll say I'll kill you and lover boy and all the people that you love." He whispered in my ear. His foul breath made my stomach churn. I silently began to cry and stood up straighter beginning to walk like a normal person again.

Phil pushed me into the back of a beat up van and slammed the door shut. He walked around the driver's side and climbed in before speeding off. I couldn't see much through the windshield; Phil had pretty much blocked off the view from the cargo area of the van. After a few winding turns that threatened to make me spill my breakfast, Phil finally stopped the car and came around to the sliding door. He grabbed my hair and roughly dragged me out. We were in a clearing and there was an old run down and abandoned house.

"We're going to have so much fun." He slurred as he dragged me along by my hair. "And when I'm done with you, I'll go after the pretty boy who's tainted you." He pulled faster until we reached the house. He pulled me to my feet and dragged me down the stairs into a cold and damp cellar before throwing me against the wall. My body crumpled to the floor and I protectively wrapped my arms around my abdomen.

"Please hang on munchkin. I'm going to protect you. Please hang in there." I whispered to my baby. Munchkin kicked me lightly and I prayed a silent prayer to God that He would at least save my baby. Phil's heavy footsteps brought me out of my tender moment with my baby and I turned my body just in time for Phil to land a heavy blow to my back. I cried out at the pain and felt the tears begin to pour down my cheeks. "Help me!" I screamed to no one in particular. Maybe by some miracle there would be someone walking by and would hear me. Phil's face reddened at my outburst and he was suddenly landing punch after punch to my face. It wasn't long before I felt darkness take over me.

* * *

When I finally came to, the cellar was dark. I couldn't see anything in the pitch-blackness. My head was pounding and I could already feel the swelling in my cheeks. I rubbed my belly unconsciously while I contemplated a way to get out of here. It dawned on me that I still had my cell phone in my back pocket. Hopefully it hadn't been crushed or broken when Phil was throwing me around. I waited a few seconds and listened for any movement upstairs. All I could hear was the loud and obnoxious snoring of Phil. I painfully shifted my body into a sitting position and then felt in my back pocket for my phone. When my hand landed on the bulge where my phone was I felt my heart rate pick up. This would be my saving grace; if it didn't work there'd be no other way to get in contact with anyone.

I looked at the screen and saw that I had barely enough service to make a phone call. I quickly dialed the number I had memorized by heart and prayed that he'd pick up. After two rings his frantic voice spoke to me.

"Bella! Bella where are you? Are you okay?" Edward's voice was laced with so much emotion; I could hear the tears pouring out of his eyes.

"I don't know where I am Edward. He's going to hurt the baby, I know he is." I whispered out. The panic I had been trying to push down was finally coming out. I just wanted to be home. I just wanted to be in the arms of Edward and surrounded by the people that I loved.

"We're going to find you love. We're going to find you and bring you and munchkin home." Edward's voiced cracked as he spoke to me. "I love you. I love you so much. Are you okay? How bad are you hurt?"

"I'm okay Edward. I'm worried about the baby."

"We're going to save both of you just hang on. Your father needs to talk to you. I love you baby."

"I love you too."

"Bells! Do you have any idea where you are? Can you describe anything?" My dad's voice took the place of Edward's.

"I'm in a house. We're in a clearing somewhere. We can't be far from Forks we weren't in the car that long. Please daddy, please find me." I felt more tears begin to cascade down my cheeks.

"We're getting a trace on your cell phone okay. Can you stay on the line?" Just as I was about to answer my dad's question I heard the hard footsteps of Phil begin to walk around upstairs.

"He's awake." I felt dread take over me now that Phil was awake.

"Stay on the line, don't hang up."

"I'll stay on as long as I can." I put the phone into my pocket and made sure the screen was facing towards my body so he couldn't see the light. The door to the cellar creaked open and I could make out the faint outline of Phil's grotesque body. My heart rate picked up and sweat coated my forehead.

"I see my little bitch is awake now." Phil's heavy footsteps descended the staircase. Suddenly he was in front of me his stale breath filling my nostrils. "Did you honestly believe I was going to let you go? You're mine." He grabbed me around my neck and shoved me against the wall. His mouth was on mine before I even had time to protest. I clamped my lips shut but he pried them apart and his slimy tongue plundered my mouth. I kicked and shoved as hard as I could but all of my efforts were futile. I could only count on the little electronic device that was hopefully still working in my pocket. I let out a scream as his hands roamed over my belly.

"Don't hurt my baby…please!" I begged him. He just laughed and continued kissing his way down my neck. He ran his hands down my sides and groped my tender breasts roughly with his hands.

"I've missed you Bella. I may just keep you pregnant for a while…you certainly filled out more." He leaned his head down and bit at my skin leaving teeth marks all over.

"Please stop…" I begged him. My head was beginning to spin and spots were clouding my eyes. I could already feel my body beginning to go limp in Phil's grasp. It was all becoming too much; the head injury, Phil raping me again, my baby. I felt my body lose all feeling and I fell into the black abyss.

* * *

A/N: So I know that this is a short update but I figured you guys were wanting to know what exactly was happening from Bella's point of view. Don't worry the end is in sight and hopefully it will be a happy one.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter you all are awesome! Enjoy this update and please let me know what you think. (Help calm my fears about this being a crappy chapter.)

~Jess


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19 (Charlie's Point of View)**_

"Chief Swan, how may I help you?" I desperately wanted to get down to where all of my men were currently working but they would not let me near the crime scene. I did not want to be sitting here taking calls. Bella had been taken. Phil had found her. I had let her down. I promised her that I would not let him come near her, that I would find him before he found her, and yet now we had no idea where she was.

"Charlie, it's Edward."

"Edward! Do you have any idea where she is? They won't let me go down to the scene to look." I stood from my seat behind the desk and was already pulling my jacket on.

"I don't know sir, I honestly don't know. Carlisle is having everyone in the family go home so we can sit down and talk out a plan. We know more about the situation than the cops so maybe we can figure something out."

"I'm on my way. I'll see you guys there." I hung up without another word and ran out to the police cruiser. I was anxious to get to the Cullen's as fast as possible. Even though in the small town of Forks there wouldn't be any traffic I still flicked on my lights just in case. The normal twenty-minute drive took me half the time at the speed I was going. I flew through the door and into the great room where everyone was seated.

"Dad where is she? Have you found her?" Emmett ran up to me. He had tears pouring down his cheeks. I had never seen Emmett so broken in his entire 21 years.

"No Emmett, I can't…I don't…I lost her." I let my tears loose at that point. I had been keeping them at bay at the station but now that I was with family I let them go. Esme came up and wrapped her small arms around me offering me her comfort.

"We're going to find her Charlie." Carlisle assured me. I looked around the room; Alice was sobbing into Jasper's chest. Before Esme had moved she was sobbing as well into Carlisle who was rubbing her back in an attempt at comfort. Emmett and Rosalie were silently crying to each other. It was then that my eyes fell on Edward. He was staring blankly at the table with his hands holding the picture that had been taken from their first date in his hands. He had dried tear stains on his cheeks. I took a seat in the recliner and held my head in my hands. I didn't have the first clue where to look. She could be anywhere; he could have taken her anywhere. There were no leads. There were no clues.

"Is there any way that we can get a trace on her? At least get within a certain radius of where she could be? If we go into this blind it could be of more harm than hurt." Carlisle broke the silence that had blanketed the room.

"We don't have any sort of lead to follow. Frank was really our only hope but he didn't see much obviously." I sighed defeated and rubbed my hands over my face. Another silence fell over the room as we all contemplated the options. Just then we all heard a buzzing and focused on where it was coming from. Edward came to life and grabbed for the phone that was sitting on the table in front of him.

"Bella! Bella where are you? Are you okay?" Edward's voice was laced with so much emotion. He stood up and began pacing the room as he continued to converse with Bella.

"We're going to find you love. We're going to find you and bring you and munchkin home." Edward's voiced cracked as he assured my baby girl that we would bring her home. I signaled at him to hand me the phone. "I love you. I love you so much. Are you okay? How bad are you hurt?" His head nodded slightly and he closed his eyes as more tears began to fall.

"We're going to save both of you just hang on. Your father needs to talk to you. I love you baby." He handed me the phone and went to go sit back down as he cradled his head in his hands. Esme and Carlisle both went over to him and hugged him close.

"Bells! Do you have any idea where you are? Can you describe anything?"

"I'm in a house. We're in a clearing somewhere. We can't be far from Forks we weren't in the car that long. Please daddy, please find me." She sounded so broken.

"We're getting a trace on your cell phone okay. Can you stay on the line?"

"He's awake."

"Stay on the line, don't hang up." I pleaded with her. Realization dawned on me at that very moment. There were only two huge clearings in Forks that contained a run down house. If Bella was right about her description I knew the two possible locations of where she could be.

"I know where she is." I whispered. Everyone's heads snapped up to look at me. We all heard the sickening crack of as Phil slapped her again and I felt the rage build up to an alarming rate inside me. "I'm going to dispatch a team to the other location and if it's alright with all of you we can go down to the second spot. I don't think we have a lot of time." Carlisle, Edward and Emmett had already jumped up and were holding keys in their hands. Carlisle also had an emergency medical bag in his hand.

"We'll take a few cars so we can get Bella out of there as soon as possible but still take care of Phil." I nodded my head and put the phone back to my ear. I choked back a sob as I heard my daughter's pleas for Phil to stop. He was going to rape her again. My heart tore into pieces as she sobbed and fought for her life.

"We're coming sweetie, we're coming just hang on." I whispered as we all piled into cars. I directed Carlisle where to turn and when we pulled into the clearing a good distance from the house I was the first one out of the car. I saw a white van parked off to the side and immediately knew I had chosen the right house.

"Emmett follow me in, Carlisle you too. The rest of you stay out here, I don't know how dangerous it is in there or if Phil is armed in any way."

"I want to go Charlie. I need to go."

"Edward, it's too dangerous. You need to be waiting out here for when we bring Bella out." He pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded his head stepping back into the waiting arms of Esme. I pulled my gun from its holster and led the way to the house. I took my walkie-talkie and gave the location of where I was to my men and then shut it off and called for backup and an ambulance. I signaled Carlisle and Emmett to stay back a distance as I went up to the front door and listened in. I could hear movement coming from the basement so I took that as my cue to quietly open the front door. I stepped in and cleared the area before waving in Carlisle and Emmett. I heard grunting coming from the cellar and I quietly made my way over before swinging open the door. I wanted to gag at the sight before me. Phil had Bella on the floor while he was holding a gun to her head and was forcing himself on her like he must have done countless times before. I heard Emmett growl behind me and turned to glare at him but it was already too late.

"Take another step and she's dead Swan." Phil bit out at me as he pulled his pants up and kicked Bella on her back. He pointed the gun, which had previously been pointed at my daughter's head, toward me.

"Now Phil, what good would it do to kill me?" I reasoned.

"You've ruined my fun. She's a good fuck there Charlie, you and Renee sure know how to make 'em." He slurred out. Before my mind knew what my body was doing I lunged myself at Phil toppling us both to the floor. I landed a good punch on his face.

"Don't ever talk about my daughter like that." Carlisle had made his way over to Bella and was quickly assessing the damage. Emmett was cradling her to his chest as he watched the scene unfold. I struggled against Phil's grip with the gun as he fought me for control. He was stronger than I thought. He rolled us over so he was on top of me but I still kept my grip firm on the gun. Phil took that time to land a punch square in my jaw. My grip released on the gun and all I remember hearing were two loud bangs. There was a ripping pain in my chest and suddenly a heavy weight landed on top of me. Everything was quickly becoming cloudy and I heard noises but couldn't register everything that was happening.

* * *

_**Emmett's Point of View**_

I was cradling Bella to my chest. She had bruises already forming on her tiny arms and her face was as swollen as could be. Carlisle was treating as many of the minor cuts as he could and he had me applying pressure to the gash that was bleeding out on her forehead. She was alert but not entirely.

"We're going to have to move her soon. I need to get a heart rate on the baby and get her in for a CT scan as soon as possible. If the baby is in fetal distress I'm going to have to deliver it as soon as possible."

"Is it safe? She's only six months."

"It'll be close. The chances aren't great but it is possible for the baby to survive." I nodded looked over to where my father had gone down with Phil. He decked him hard in the face as he held Phil's hand down with the gun. I had never seen my dad in action but damn was he good. I could hear the stampede of officers upstairs as they stormed the house.

"Where's dad?" I heard Bella croak out. She wasn't too badly injured but from the large hand prints that were forming on her neck I could tell her vocal cords had take a strain.

"He's trying to take down Phil." She nodded her head and tried to sit up but winced in pain.

"Munchkin's not moving Emmett; what if something happened to the baby?" She was beginning to panic as her hand came up to rub her belly.

"Munchkin is going to be fine. He or she may make their entrance to the world a little sooner than expected but he or she is going to be okay. Carlisle won't know anything for sure until we can get you to the hospital."

"Where's Edward?"

"Dad had Edward wait outside but he'll be down in a minute I'm sure." Just as I said this Edward's lithe body burst from behind a line of officers.

"Bella!" He knelt down next to me and picked her hand up.

"Can you take her for a minute?" He nodded and took my place of cradling her to his chest. I turned my head away for a minute to focus on dad when my stomach dropped. Phil had dad pinned down underneath him and landed a hard blow to his face. Charlie's grip slackened on his hand and Phil took that opportunity to aim the gun right at my dad's chest. Two gunshots rang out in the air as the officers finally made their way down the stairs. I watched as one of the officers fired his gun at Phil shooting him straight through the chest. I sighed and felt my heart rate calm as I realized Phil was finally dead. His lifeless body collapsed on my father.

"Dad, are you okay?" I called out but I got no response. "Dad?"

"Emmett, what's wrong with Dad? Why isn't he saying anything?" Bella couldn't see much because she was lying down and my burly body was in the way.

"I don't know. I'm going to go and check." A few of the officers had moved over to Phil and kicked the gun away from his lifeless body. They rolled him off of my dad who was lying on the ground gasping for air himself. Blood was pouring from his chest as he gasped in shallow breaths.

"Dad!" I kneeled by his side and cradled his head in my lap as he continued to take in shallow breaths.

"Is…is she…okay?" He wheezed out. I placed two hands over the injury and pressed down hard in an attempt to stifle the bleeding.

"Carlisle!" I called out as I pressed harder on Charlie's chest. "She's going to be okay dad." I had tears coming down my face as I held onto my father. Carlisle was next to me in an instant.

"Emmett I need your shirt." He replaced my hands with his as I pulled off my shirt and handed it to him. He did the best he could to stop the blood flow with my shirt but Charlie still continued to strain for air. "I need two stretchers down here now!" He screamed at the officers that were surrounding us. One of them radioed in for the paramedics to come down.

"You have to tell…Bella…that I love her…" He choked out. "Tell her…that…I'm sorry I didn't protect her."

"Daddy…" Bella appeared next to Carlisle and I. Edward had carried her frail body over to where my father lay. "Please don't leave me." She sobbed. Edward was supporting her weight against him as she began to cry.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize dad. You saved me. You saved munchkin." Paramedics came down with stretches and Carlisle help to load Charlie onto the stretcher. Edward picked Bella up and placed her two on the other stretcher.

"Let's get them out of here." They brought them up the stairs and led them out to the ambulances, which quickly took off towards the hospital. "Emmett you and I will ride with your dad. Edward will stay with Bella. I don't know if he's going to make it or not." I nodded my head and climbed into the back of the ambulance with Carlisle who immediately began giving orders and treating my dad.

* * *

A/N: Okay so this was a hard chapter to write not going to lie. Honestly, I haven't quite decided if I want to go with what I originally had in mind for the story or if I want to suddenly change it at the last minute. I guess you all will just need to tune in and find out to see what I decide.

I hope you are not disappointed with this chapter either. I've tried hard to make it as realistic as possible but I feel like I may have failed slightly in that department. It could just be that I am my own worst crictic but feel free to let me know what you think.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and maybe just maybe I'll even get a third update posted tonight. Don't forget to review!

~Jess


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20 (Carlisle's Point of View)**_

Charlie was fluttering in and out of consciousness as we sped through the streets of Forks in the ambulance. I had managed to control the bleeding as much as possible but I wouldn't be able to fully assess the damage until I was in a trauma room at the hospital.

"We're going to need to intubate. Hand me a 7.0." The paramedic handed me the tube and I positioned Charlie's head in front of me. "I'm in…go ahead and bag him." The paramedic began pumping the bag to inflate Charlie's lungs.

"What's happening Carlisle?" I had completely forgotten that Emmett was with us in the ambulance.

"Your father can't breathe on his own right now. There's too much stress on his lungs from the bullet. I'm worried that his lungs may be filling with blood and that his lung is going to collapse. When we get to the hospital I'm going to do an ultrasound. He's most likely going to need surgery. It's going to touch and go for a while." Emmett tearfully nodded his head as he absorbed everything I was telling him. "I'm going to do everything I can Emmett."

"Thanks Carlisle." We pulled up into the emergency room and were immediately assaulted by doctors and nurses.

"We need to get him into trauma 1. The young lady in the ambulance behind us is going to need a visit from the OB/GYN and possibly a neonatologist as well as a CT scan." I began shouting orders at the nurses and doctors surrounding me. We managed to stabilize Charlie enough to move him into surgery. I successfully managed to repair any damage the gunshot had caused and Charlie only coded once during surgery. I was afraid that we may have lost him but we got him back and he pulled through surgery.

* * *

I scrubbed out and made my way to the waiting area where the rest of my family was waiting on news for both Bella and Charlie. As soon as I walked through the double doors my family all stood up anxious for what I had to say. I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed.

"Please tell me he didn't…he couldn't…no"

"He's made it through surgery but he's not out of the woods yet. Anything can happen. I managed to successfully remove the bullet and to also repair the damage the gunshot caused but he coded once while he was on the table. Time will tell if he'll make a full recovery."

"Coded? I'm not sure what that means…" Emmett asked me.

"His heart stopped. His brain was not getting oxygen and it may have caused brain damage, however the extent of the damage will not be known if…until he wakes up."

"If? There's a possibility he won't wake up?"

"When the heart stops there is always the possibility. The brain needs oxygen to survive." Everyone was breaking into sobs as we all hugged one another. "Your father is a strong man. He will pull through; I know he will. I just don't know when." I clapped Emmett on the shoulder as we all embraced in one giant hug. Edward was still seated on the chair staring into space while tinkering with his fingers.

"What about Bella?" He asked. His voice was barely above a whisper as he turned his attention to me.

"When I last saw her there were no life threatening injuries that I could ascertain. I haven't been able to check on her yet though. I was on my way up to find her chart." Edward nodded and sucked in a deep breath.

"Do you think the baby is okay?"

"I don't know son, I don't know. I'll go find out and come back as soon as I know." I hugged everyone one last time before I made my way back into the hospital in search of where they had taken Bella. My first instinct was to check the maternity ward.

"Was an Isabella Swan taken up here earlier?" I asked one of the nurses. She quickly scanned the charts and found one labeled Isabella Swan.

"Looks like she was just moved into room 445 Dr. Cullen."

"Thanks." I took the chart from her and started walking down the hall towards Bella's room. I knocked gently and then opened the door to see Bella staring at the wall ahead of her.

"How are you feeling Bella?" I flipped through the pages making mental notes of what to relay to the family downstairs.

"How's my dad?" She whispered out. Her voice was still raspy from the minor damage Phil had caused on her vocal cords.

"He's out of surgery. I have him in ICU right now. It might be a while before he comes to."

"He's not going to die right?"

"Honestly Bella, I can't rule that out entirely right now." I took a seat next to her bed.

"It's all my fault. I should never have gotten any of you involved. Any one of you could have been hurt. Now Phil may have killed my father. I'll never forgive myself if he dies."

"Bella it's not your fault. I've known your father for a long time and he never would have wanted you to feel like this. He would rather he give his own life so you can live than you have to suffer any pain. Don't blame yourself for this." I wiped the tears off of her cheek. We sat in silence for a few moments and after she finally calmed down I released her from the hug I had wrapped her in.

"Thank you Carlisle."

"Anytime Bella. Do you want me to get Edward and Emmett? Everyone is dying to see you."

"I would love that."

"Would it be okay if I told them the extent of your injuries?" She nodded her head. "I'll be back shortly then with some of the family." I exited her room and returned her chart to the nurses' station before heading back down to the waiting room. As soon as I entered this time Edward was right in front of me waiting with baited breath for the information I now held.

"How's is she?"

"The OB/GYN is concerned about the baby. He's watching the fetal heart rate carefully and at the first sign of distress he's going to deliver the baby. He wants to hold out as long as possible so the baby has more time to develop but he also doesn't want to compromise the baby's life."

"Is that it?"

"Bella herself sustained a concussion. She's got minor cuts and bruises and her voice box took a beating as well. She'll be a little raspy when she talks for the next couple of days. It'll be like she has a sore throat. She'll probably suffer from some post-traumatic stress disorder as well. Right now all she really needs is rest and family. She needs to be surrounded by everyone that loves her. She's blaming herself for all of this right now and that's going to be a major hurdle to overcome but it can be done."

"Can I see her?" I saw the dried tear tracks that stained my son's cheeks and felt my heart break a little for him. The person that he loved and wanted to marry was suffering one of the most difficult times in her life and he was feeling that pain too.

"Of course you can, she's been asking for you. I'll take you up to her room."

"Thanks dad."

"Emmett, would you like to see your father before you see Bella? I'm sure Charlie would appreciate having someone there to talk to him even if he can't respond back right now."

"I'd love to see him Carlisle."

"Come with me then." I took the two boys past the wooden double doors and into the hallways of where I worked.

"Emmett I need to warn you, your father is going to have a lot of tubes. There's a machine that is breathing for him and he's connected to several other machines. It may be a bit startling at first but it just takes some time to get used to."

"I'll be okay." I stopped us in front of a room in the ICU and opened the door for Emmett. His breath hitched when he saw his father's battered body lying on the stark white sheets of the hospital bed.

"I'll be back to check on you later. Bella is in room 445 if you want to see her sometime." I shut the door behind me and motioned for Edward to follow me.

"How are you handling this son? I know no one has really stopped to ask you how you are doing?"

"I'm just worried about her. I'm worried about the baby. If…Charlie dies…she won't ever come back. She'll lose it entirely." I watched as my son crumpled to the floor of the elevator and began to sob. I pulled the emergency stop button and the elevator halted to a stop. I sat down next to Edward and pulled him into my arms. "I can't lose her. My heart won't survive if I lose her. She's my everything. Without her…there would just be no point to going on." Edward's tears began to fall faster and they soaked my blue scrubs.

"Edward, I don't think you will ever completely lose Bella. I'm not going to say that she's not going to clam up now that she's been put through this but her love for you is strong enough to save her from this."

"Why did this bastard have to come back and take what little she had gained for herself? She was doing so well. She was beginning to live life and break out of the protective shell. Why does everything bad happen to her?"

"I don't know son, I wish I held the answer to your questions but I'd be lying if I said I did." I held him tighter to me and allowed him to cry. "You've been so strong through all of this. I don't know if I could be like you. If it were your mother, I would have lost it too. You're not alone in this. Neither of you are."

"Thanks dad. Can we go and see her now? I need to see her. I need to feel her." I nodded my head and pulled us both to a standing position. I pushed the button again and the elevator jerked to life. The bell dinged and the doors opened as we arrived on the fourth floor of the hospital. I led Edward down the hallway and past the nurse's station until we arrived at the doorway to 445.

"Just be there and support her in everything right now. Show her how much you love her; that's what she needs most right now." He nodded his head at me and walked in.

"Hey sweetie." Edward pulled the chair up next to Bella's bed and I watched as my son and his girlfriend embraced in a tearful hug. I didn't want to intrude on their conversation so I made my exit from the room and went back down to the rest of my waiting family in the waiting room. I made sure my pager was on full volume so that if something should happen to either of them I would hear my pager. Esme was waiting for me on the bench in the waiting room.

"I sent Alice and Jasper down to the cafeteria. Alice was in hysterics and just couldn't calm herself down I figured some time away and alone with Jasper might do her some good." I sat down next to my wife and took her into my arms sighing loudly.

"Where's Rose? Did she go with Emmett?"

"Yeah she figured he could use some support. I hope that it's okay that she went there."

"Of course it is sweetheart. We all need as much support to get through this as we can and there's no one better than your significant other." I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and wrapped her tighter in my embrace.

"Do you really think that everything is going to be okay and that Charlie is going to pull through this?"

"I know that Charlie is a very strong man. He's a fighter and always has been. I think he'll pull through and that it's all a matter of time."

"And Bella?"

"Bella I fear has already retreated back into the shell she created for herself after she ran away. I think with some time and with Edward being there for her 24/7 that things will be okay. We're all going to get through this."

"I hope so. I couldn't bear the thought of losing either of them."

"Neither can I honey." We sat there in silence just reveling in each other's presence. Esme eventually fell asleep on my chest and I wasn't long in following after her as I laid my head back against the wall and let my eyes rest.

* * *

A/N: Well I think this would make either 2 or 3 updates in the span of 24 hours, I can't remember. Whoo...I have some serious writer's exhaustion (haha). I hope you guys enjoyed all two or three updates. We're not entirely out of the woods yet but at least Phil is completely out of the picture. Just as a forewarning, there may not be any like legit drama in this story. After the next couple of chapters or so it may just turn out to be an all out romantic fanfiction. I don't know though, things can change and new plot twists can always pop into my mind at any point in time.

I changed it up a little and gave you Carlisle's point of view. I'm not entirely sure on medical terminology, I'm only a pre-medicine major we don't actually learn any medical terminology until well, medical school. If I did get anything wrong, I'm sorry, I tried! Please enjoy this update and hopefully I'll get one up sometime tomorrow (or well technically today on my time). Thanks for all of your reviews on the last couple chapters, you all are awesome. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

~Jess


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21**_

I was grateful when Carlisle told me that he was going to bring up Edward. I felt like I was about to break into pieces after everything that was happening and having Edward by my side felt like it would make the pain in my heart a little bit less. I felt guilty for the fact that I was laying here mostly unscathed while my father was fighting for his life a couple floors below me. I felt guilty because I let Phil harm my baby and now there was a possibility that my little munchkin was going to have to leave the confines of my womb and fight for his or her life.

"Just hang in there little one; hang on for as long as you can." I rubbed my belly tenderly. My moment was broken when I heard a shuffle of footsteps outside my door. There was a light knock before the door opened revealing one very worried looking Edward and a calm looking Carlisle. As soon as Edward's eyes landed on me he rushed over to the bed and embraced me in a tight yet gentle hug.

"Hey sweetie." He breathed into my hair. I sighed as he relinquished his grip on me to pull up a chair and sit down next to me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." I sighed. It wasn't a complete lie. I did feel fine for the most part, just not emotionally.

"You know Bella, you are a horrible liar." He chuckled as he continued to rub slow circles on the back of my hand. "What's on your mind?"

"How's my dad?" I asked him hoping to change the subject.

"He's got a rough road ahead. Emmett is down with him right now." He gave me his _'we're not done with this conversation'_ look as he answered my question. "Please tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm just worried about my dad is all." I gave him a halfhearted smile and thankfully he allowed the subject to drop for now.

"The hospital has arranged for a psychiatrist to come and speak with you after you've gotten some rest."

"I don't need a shrink Edward. I'm fine."

"You promised your dad before this happened that you would talk to someone. Plus, I think it would be good for you. My family and I can offer all the support we can but we don't know how to deal with the emotional matters as well."

"I know. I just…I'm not crazy so I don't see why I need to talk to a shrink."

"Psychiatrists are not just for crazy people. She can help you figure out all of the thoughts going through that pretty little head of yours. Please just try it at least once. If not for me than for your father, you promised him." I nodded my head in reluctance. "Thank you." We continued to sit in silence. There was no need for us to speak, the silence was enough for both of us.

A little while later, Carlisle knocked on the door and came in. Edward had apparently fallen asleep somewhere during that time because his body did not stir when Carlisle entered. I continued running my fingers through his messy locks of hair as Carlisle moved closer to the bed.

"He's had a long couple of days. I'm glad he's finally getting some rest though. There was no reasoning with him while everything was happening."

"Was he really that worried?" I looked down at the sleeping form of Edward.

"He was beside himself with worry. He thought he was never going to see you again and the thought of that happening terrified him to no end."

"I'm sorry I've caused all of you so much pain."

"Don't be sorry, none of this was your fault. We're all just infinitely glad that you and the baby are safe."

"Carlisle, do you think that my dad is going to make it?"

"He's a fighter Bella. He always has been and I think that he will be no different in this situation." I smiled at him and said a silent prayer for Charlie. "Do you want to see him?"

"Can I?"

"Yeah for a few minutes. It will do you some good to move around."

"I don't want to leave Edward though, he might get worried." I looked down and took in the even breathing of my boyfriend.

"How about I run my rounds and then I'll come back and check on you and see how you're feeling. If you feel okay and everything looks good with the baby, we can go and see your dad."

"That sounds good." I yawned and stretched my limbs and settled down into my bed. Edward stirred slightly and arose from his bent over position next to me.

"How long have I been asleep?" He rubbed his eyes and stretched before cracking his neck.

"Not long enough." I pulled the blanket down a bit and motioned for him to join me in the bed. "I think you might sleep better if you join me."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me. I'm fine." I scooted over taking care of the wires that were coming off of my body. Edward hesitantly climbed onto the bed and wrapped his arm around the back of my neck pulling me gently to his warm body. I felt my eyes getting droopy as I snuggled into his side.

"I love you Bella."

"I love you too Edward." I sighed as I felt myself drift off into dreamland.

* * *

I don't know how long I had slept for but when I awoke and looked out the window it was dark. I snuggled closer into Edward's chest…as close as I could with the enormous baby bump in between us. Edward was still peacefully asleep. He had a small smile tugging as his beautiful lips and I wondered what he was dreaming about. Was he dreaming about me? I had dreamt about him like I usually do. I dreamt of our life together; of growing old together and sitting on the front porch of our house as we drank iced tea. I had painted the perfect picture of the rest of our life together in my head but it was then I realized that there was something missing. A major factor in the whole future I had imagined was missing.

Did Edward feel the same as I felt about him?

I know he promised me that he would be here for my munchkin and me forever but even then he was so young. He was committing himself to something without realizing the consequences of his decision. A baby changes everything. I wasn't even sure what had possessed me to keep this baby myself. We were both so young and we are just starting out our lives. I don't want Edward to feel like he's obligated to support my baby and me.

I loved Edward. I do love him. I only hope that he feels the same towards me that I feel for him. Carlisle coming into my room startled me from my thoughts about my future. He picked up the chart from the end of my bed and scanned over a few pages.

"Did you have a good rest?"

"Yeah I guess I needed it more than I thought." I looked over to Edward who was still deeply asleep.

"It looks like Edward is going to be asleep for a while." Carlisle chuckled as he jotted down a few notes on my chart.

"No…no I'm awake." Edward's deep voice joined our conversation.

"Son, you need to sleep. You haven't slept much in the last few days and your body needs to recuperate."

"I'm okay."

"Edward, you need to sleep. I'm just going to go down and visit my dad for a while. I want to make sure he's okay."

"I'll take you down. I've slept for like 10 hours already."

"I'll bring a wheelchair in. There'll be no arguing with him so we might as well comply." Carlisle gave us one last smile before he quickly exited the room. Edward slid off the bed and adjusted his now wrinkled clothing. We both turned towards the door where there was another knock.

"Hey Edward…I figured you could use a change of clothes and I figured Bella would want something other than the flimsy hospital gown so I brought some sweats and some of your t-shirts." Alice was standing in the doorway holding a duffel bag with Jasper close behind her. She walked further into the room with Jasper following close behind and handed Edward the duffel bag. "Go shower lover boy…you're starting to smell." Edward took the bag from her and headed into the adjacent bathroom to shower.

"How are you feeling Bella?" Alice's usual perky behavior was slowly beginning to shine through more. Jasper took a seat in the chair Edward had once preoccupied and Alice promptly placed herself on his lap. "We've been so worried about you. I went and saw Charlie earlier and well…he doesn't look too good. I mean I don't know anything about medicine so don't listen to what I'm saying but with all the tubes and wires coming out of him…it just doesn't look good to me." Alice's face turned somber as she relayed this tiny bit of information to me. Before I could say anything Carlisle came back into the room pushing a wheel chair.

"Are you ready to go Bella?" Carlisle moved towards the bed and began unhooking the fetal heart monitors that had been strapped to my belly. Both Alice and Carlisle helped me to sit up and before Carlisle moved me to the wheelchair Alice interrupted him.

"Wait, let her change into some sweats. I bet she's not enjoying this stupid old gown." Alice dug through the abandoned bag Edward had left on the chair by the bathroom and pulled out a grey pair of sweats and a button up shirt with a tank top. "Edward! Hurry up so Bella can change." She banged on the door and stomped her foot like a little 5 year old. "By the way Bella, just because I'm condoning sweats and a these unfashionable clothes right now doesn't mean that once you are out of this place you have my permission to stay in these God-awful things"

"Alice, leave Bella alone…she can wear what she wants and she doesn't need to have you influencing her. She looks beautiful in everything." Edward came and walked me over to the bathroom to a waiting Alice.

"Oh shut up Edward." Alice waved him out and began to help me change into the clothes that she brought with her. I felt so much better once I had gotten out of the flimsy gown.

"Thanks for bringing me clothes. I really was uncomfortable in that." Alice helped me to walk out into the room and sit down in the wheelchair.

"Are you ready to go love?" Edward came up behind me and placed a blanket in my lap. I looked up at him curiously. "Just in case you get cold."

"Don't keep her down there too long Edward. I don't want her straining herself too much." Carlisle informed Edward. He nodded and began to slowly push me down the hall towards the elevator.

"We'll be here waiting for when you get back Bella." Alice and Jasper stayed back in the room while Carlisle made his way up to the surgical floor.

"Let's go see your father love." Edward wheeled me into the elevator and pushed the third floor button. We rolled out onto the ICU ward and he pushed me down the hall to the last room on the right. I saw Emmett's burly form embracing Rosalie with tears running down his face and I braced myself for what I was about to see. "I'm here for you love. I know this is going to be scary but it'll be okay." Edward knocked and opened the door and pushed me in placing me next to the bed. I gasped as I looked at the battered form of my father. His face had swollen a bit from the punch Phil had landed on his face and he was connected to all sorts of wires and tubes. I stood from my chair carefully much to the dismay of Edward and sat on the edge of the bed next to my father.

"Daddy…" I whimpered out. He looked so helpless. He looked nothing like the man I had known as my father. I grasped his hand in mine and squeezed it gently as the tears began to roll down my eyes. "Daddy, please wake up." I felt like a little kid as I sobbed by my father's bedside.

"Bella…it'll be alright. Dad's going to be fine, okay?" Emmett came up and wrapped me in a hug. I cried into his shoulder as he rubbed my back soothingly.

"Where's Rose?"

"I sent her home. She hadn't left since we got here and she needed to sleep. There's no use in both of us suffering."

"Em, you should go home too and get some rest. You look like death warmed over." I placed my hand on his cheek as more tears continued to pour down my own.

"I can't leave you and dad here by yourselves. You're all I've got." He hugged me tighter to his muscular form.

"How are you doing Bells? How's my little niece or nephew?" I grimaced as I thought about the recent pain I had been feeling.

"Munchkin is certainly doing a number on me right now. He or she just won't stop kicking." I placed my hand on my back and tried to relieve some of the pressure I was feeling.

"Are you alright Bella?" Edward stepped in voicing his concern.

"Yeah…I think…I'm okay." I regained my composure and sat up a little straighter trying to ignore the pain munchkin was wreaking on my abdomen. We sat in silence for a moment before the monitors in the room starting going haywire. Emmett and I jumped from the bed as a frantic Carlisle came rushing into the room with a trail of nurses following him.

"He's in vfib! Give me the paddles." Edward and Emmett pulled me to the back of the room and had me sit down in the wheelchair. I watched as Carlisle shocked my dad's body.

"Charge to 300…clear!" He shocked my dad again. "Push one of atrophine." Carlisle waited as the nurse pumped the drugs into Charlie's system. "Charge to 360…clear!"

"I've got a pulse Dr. Cullen."

"Edward…" I clutched at my abdomen as shooting pains began to replace the immense pressure. Edward was so entranced in the events that had just unfolded with Charlie that he didn't hear my quiet murmur of his name. "Edward!" I screamed as another ripping pain overtook me.

"Bella? Bella, what's wrong?" He knelt down next to me as I breathed in deeply. "Carlisle…something's wrong with Bella!" He screamed.

"Bella…dear, what's going on? What hurts?"

"My stomach…something's wrong with the baby I think."

"Page Dr. Sheppard and have her meet us in labor and delivery."

"Delivery? But dad…she's not even 7 months yet."

"I know son, but with all of the stress that Bella has been through I'm surprised that she's held on this long. We're going to do everything we can. Dr. Sheppard is one of the best neonatal doctors in the world. Let's get her up there." Carlisle began barking orders at the different nurses and residents that had filled the room. "You and Emmett can tag along for now but if this is going where I think it's going you are both going to need to stay in the waiting room." With that Carlisle and a team of doctors wheeled me out of Charlie's room and back up to Labor and Delivery.

"Edward! Please don't leave me!" I gasped out. "I can't do this alone."

"I'll stay with you as long as I can. I promise."

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, so I realize I haven't updated this story in like two weeks and I send my sincerest apologies to all of you. After I posted those three updates in a row I really just needed to take a break from writing for a while and then I get swamped with school and work. But finally I managed to get an update posted and I hope that you all enjoy it. Sorry it isn't super long or anything but I will try to get another update posted sometime tonight or tomorrow and hopefully I won't have to take as long a hiatus as I did the first time.

Thanks to all the readers and I hope that you all stick with me to the end. I love you guys!

~Jess


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22 (Carlisle's point of view)**_

I wheeled Bella back into her room on the labor and delivery floor and began to examine her abdomen. I wasn't a specialist in pregnancy or neonatology but I knew something was definitely wrong.

"Has someone paged Addison Sheppard?" I yelled to the frantic residents and nurses that were surrounding Bella and me.

"I paged her but she was in surgery."

"Page her again!" Very rarely did I raise my voice but because this girl I was currently trying to help was practically family I was going to do everything even if it meant yelling. "Bella? Stay with me Bella!" Her eyes were beginning to flutter and her blood pressure was dropping significantly.

"Dr. Cullen? What's going on here?" Finally Addison Sheppard had arrived.

"Isabella Swan, age 18, six and half months pregnant. She recently underwent a traumatic experience and we've been keeping her for observation. She was down visiting her father in ICU when she complained of sharp abdominal pain." Dr. Sheppard did a quick examination of Bella.

"I'm going to need an OR stat. She's got a placental abruption. If I don't get that baby out we could lose both of them." The team that had surrounded us began prepping Bella for surgery and before I knew what was happening Bella was being whisked away. "Are you coming Dr. Cullen?"

"No I need to stay with my family. I'll check in for an update." She nodded her head and rushed out of the room.

"Dad, what's happening to her?" I looked over at my son who had tears streaming down his face. Emmett too looked just as equally distraught.

"The placenta has detached from Bella's uterus. If Addison doesn't get the baby out as soon as possible there's a huge possibility that Bella could bleed out."

"Bleed out…she can't…no!" Edward crumbled to the floor as he realized the possibility of what could happen.

"I don't speak doctor…what does that mean? Bleeding out? That can't be good…" The realization hit Emmett as soon as he spoke those words and he took collapsed into the chair.

"Boys, just hold tight okay? Bella is like her father. She's a fighter."

"I almost lost my dad a few minutes ago. You had to shock his damn heart to get it started again! What if that happens to Bella? What if I lose all three of them? They're all I have left!" Emmett stood up and began to pace and chew on his fingernails.

"Emmett, don't think like that. You're going to drive yourself nuts if you do."

"What about the baby? Is the baby going to be okay?"

"Addison is the best. There is no one that can do her job better. She'll do everything she can to save the baby." Just then my pager started beeping and I looked down to see it flashing _'911' _across the screen. "I need to go and check on this. You boys stay here and I will keep you updated as soon as I get information." I quickly left the room and sprinted down towards Charlie's room to see what the problem was. I didn't want to alert Emmett and Edward about the fact that Charlie's life was in danger again.

"What happened?"

"He has a pulmonary embolism Dr. Cullen." One of my residents piped up as he continued to try and stablize Charlie.

"Let's give him a dose of Heparin and get me a chest tube." I moved closer to Charlie's bed and moved the gown we had placed him. The nurse rolled the tray containing the supplies I would need for the chest tube and I quickly made work of it and began to drain any fluid that had collected in Charlie's lung. I watched the monitor above Charlie's bed as his blood pressure began to stabilize. "Page me if anything else happens."

"Yes Dr. Cullen." I made my way out of Charlie's room and up to the OR to check on Bella and the baby.

"Hang two more units of blood! I can't seem to stop the hemorrhaging." Addison was frantically trying to stop the arterial bleed. I saw the nurses over by the incubator attempting to revive the baby boy that was lying there.

"I can't intubate." The nurse was trying to intubate Bella's son.

"Let me do it." I managed to get the tube in and began to artificially breathe for the baby boy. We transferred him to the portable incubator and whisked him off to the NICU. I looked around me and noticed that Dr. Sheppard was able to quell the bleeding and save Bella's life. She was suturing her abdomen when I decided to make my way down to where Edward and Emmett were waiting. As soon as I entered the room Edward pounced on me.

"Where is she? Please tell me she's okay."

"When I went up to the ER Dr. Sheppard was attempting to fix an arterial bleed. Bella did lose a lot of blood but she'll make it. She's also gave birth to a beautiful yet tiny baby boy. We took him over to the NICU because his lungs were not fully developed yet and he needs help breathing."

"So she's going to be okay right?" Emmett spoke up. His eyes were bloodshot and he had dried tearstains on his cheeks.

"She will be just fine."

"Can I see him?" Edward anxiously asked me.

"I can take you up there and maybe you can look in from the window while they get him set up."

"I'm going to go down and see my dad."

"Emmett, I should tell you. The 911 call I received as Bella was being taken up to surgery was for your dad. He had what we call a pulmonary embolism. What that means is that he had a blood clot form in his lungs that almost killed him. I was able to stabilize him however and he should be okay."

"Thanks Carlisle." Emmett tiredly made his way from the room while I guided Edward up to the NICU.

"There he is." I pointed out the tiny little baby that was lying in the incubator.

"He's so tiny."

"He is but he's strong. His lungs may not have fully developed because he was born premature but all of his other vitals have been strong. He'll make it." I smiled at my son as he looked on in wonder to the baby he was willing to call his own son.

"When can I see Bella?" He turned his attention from the baby boy towards me.

"She should be out of recovery in an hour. She's going to need as much rest as she can get. After all the blood she lost she's going to feel very weak." Edward nodded his head before looking back into the window.

"Would you like to go in and see him up close?" When Edward eagerly nodded his head I led him into the changing room and had him put on protective wear before entering the NICU.

"Can I touch him?"

"Of course. The physical contact will help to stimulate him." I opened up one of the circles where Edward could stick his arm through.

"Hey there little guy. It's so nice to finally meet you munchkin, even though you did come into this world a little sooner than we expected. There are so many people waiting to meet you. Your mommy is going to love you so much when she finally gets to see you." I watched on as my son lovingly caressed the baby's arm.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while and go check on Bella and see where they've got her." I left my son in the company of the baby and before I went off to find Bella I checked in on Charlie and Emmett. Rose had come back and was currently soothing a distraught Emmett and he looked after his father. I closed the door silently and headed up to the recovery ward to check on Bella who had just come out of surgery. She was pale and there were dark bags under her eyes. The large baby bump that used to be there had shrunk quite a bit thanks to the surgery. Most women would have to work off for weeks before they returned to their normal size but Bella was lucky enough to have the surgery, which removed a lot of the baby weight.

"Dr. Sheppard, was everything able to be repaired?"

"She lost a lot of blood but other than that she should be alright. How is the baby? I haven't had a chance to check on him because I had to attend to the mother."

"He's strong. His lungs aren't fully developed so the ventilator is breathing for him but his vitals are otherwise stable."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. I'll check in on him."

"Thank you for everything Dr. Sheppard. You saved my family."

"It's my job Carlisle, it's what I do." I smiled at her and made my way out of the recovery ward to find the rest of the family who I just realized had no clue what was going on. I immediately spotted my beautiful wife sitting with a tearful Alice and a somber looking Jasper.

"Carlisle! How is she? We were waiting in the room and then Edward and Emmett came rushing towards us saying Bella was being taken up to surgery. What happened?" My daughter was bouncing up and down in front of me worried as could be.

"There was a placental abruption…the placenta detached itself from Bella's uterus and Dr. Sheppard had to perform an emergency c-section. Both Bella and the baby are going to be okay. She has a beautiful baby boy and while his lungs are not fully developed his vitals are strong."

"A boy? She and Edward have a son?" Alice was suddenly excited at the prospect of a new baby.

"Yes Bella and Edward have a son."

"Oh Carlisle that's wonderful!" Esme had tears in her eyes at the news.

"Yes. Bella's in recovery now and Edward is with the baby. Rose and Emmett are with Charlie who has been having episodes throughout the day. I had to insert a chest tube to help drain any fluid thanks to the clot that formed in his lungs. I think that he will be okay though." I sat down wearily next to my wife and placed my head in my hands. I had been going non-stop since Charlie and Bella had arrived here. I wanted nothing more than the best for both of them even if it meant that I was pulling way longer shifts that I should be. I needed a break and sitting here next to my wife was one way to take a load off. She pulled me into her arms and began to soothe me in a way that only she could do.

"Take a load of sweetheart. I know you must be exhausted. We all are. Maybe we should get you home so you can sleep for a little while before coming back."

"No I need to stay here and make sure that nothing goes wrong with either of them. I'll be okay. You should go home though and sleep."

"If you stay, we are all staying. There are plenty of chairs here in the waiting room that we can turn into makeshift beds and we can take turns running home for change of clothes. We're a family and families stick together." I nodded my head and placed my head in my wife's lap as I let my eyes drift close for a few minutes.

* * *

A/N: So guys, I have some bad news. I'm going to have to drive down to Houston for a few days because my uncle passed away this morning. I will try and update while I am there but I am not making any promises. I should be back by Wednesday however and I will be sure to update as soon as I can. Thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, you guys are awesome! I hope you are not getting too bored with the story line; we still have Edward's romantic proposal to look forward too :). Anyways, just hang tight if you can and I will post as soon as possible.

Please don't forget to let me know what you think, it really helps me out so much! I love you guys for all of the reveiws and the favorites and everything! You guys rock! I hope you enjoy this next chapter and I apologize to those of you who wish that I had killed off the baby but I just couldn't do it...there is a reason why the baby survived and you'll find out soon enough. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

~Jess


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter 23**_

My head was finally clearing of the fogginess that had suddenly encompassed it. I couldn't tell where I was but I could tell that my stomach was aching. I reached my hand down in an attempt to quell the pain that had started there when I noticed that the hard bump was no longer there. What was going on? Where was my baby? Suddenly the events came flooding back to my mind. I was in my dad's room and his monitors started to beep wildly. I remember backing against the wall and clutching my abdomen in pain. There was something wrong with munchkin but I don't know what.

"Where's my baby?" I was panicking and the nurse who had walked by was getting the full brunt of it.

"They took your baby up to the NICU after Dr. Sheppard delivered him."

"Him? It's a boy?"

"Yes ma'am. You have yourself a beautiful baby boy. I'm Nurse Cooper by the way…Lexi Cooper. "

"Where am I? Where's Edward?"

"I've just come to collect you and bring you back to your room. Calm down though honey you need your rest." I listened to the nurse and laid back in my bed sighing at the minor relief I felt. "Who's Edward?"

"He's my boyfriend."

"Is that the baby's father?"

"Kind of…it's sort of complicated. He's not the biological father." Nurse Cooper gave me a confused glance as she digested the piece of information I just gave her.

"It's a very long story." I sighed.

"Well honey, you're going to be here for a while so if you feel like divulging at any time just let me know. I'd love to listen. I'll also see if I can find this Edward you speak of. Maybe he's with the baby?"

"I feel like such a bad mother! How's my baby? Is he okay?"

"That's another very good question, sweets. I'll look into that as soon as I get you situated." She pushed my bed into the room I had once occupied. It wasn't long after she had left to try and find the whereabouts of Edward that Carlisle and Esme walked in followed by Alice and Jasper.

"Oh Bella…I'm so glad that you are okay!" Alice immediately ran past her parents and embraced me in a very tight hug. I felt my face contort into a grimace as she squeezed my body a little too tightly.

"Alice, you need to be careful!" Carlisle scolded.

"Oops, I forgot that you just underwent a major surgery. Are you okay?" I literally felt my face pale as the pain overtook me.

"I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes." I took a few shallow breaths and regained my composure before assuring Alice that no permanent damage had been done. "Where's Edward? Can I see my baby?"

"I don't think getting up right now would be the best idea Bella so you'll have to wait a little while before you can see the baby. Edward is with him right now and Emmett is with your father."

"Is he going to be okay Carlisle? Nurse Cooper said she would try to find him for me but she's not back yet."

"He's stable and he needs a little help breathing but overall he should be okay. He needs a name though." Carlisle gave me a warm fatherly smile as he mentioned the fact that my baby was still nameless.

"Ethan Charlie Swan."

"That's a beautiful name Bella. Your father will be so happy to find out you've given his grandson his name."

"Without my dad we may never have made it out of there alive."

"I'll let the nursery know that you've decided on a name so we can get the birth certificate filled out properly."

"Thank you Carlisle, for everything." I felt my whole body become weak. The little energy I had had all been spent on this small conversation. Esme must have noticed my sudden fatigue because she was by my bedside coaxing me to sleep.

"You need to rest Bella. Your body has been through a lot lately and it needs time to heal." She was gently smoothing my hair on my head as she whispered in my ear. I suddenly heard the beautiful voice that I had grown to love so much. I could faintly make out what they were saying but the fog was beginning to cloud my mind again.

"How is she mom?"

"She's doing relatively well in my opinion for someone who just had an emergency c-section. She was up and talking and she even named the baby."

"She named him? What did she decide?"

"Ethan Charlie Swan." Esme looked at me with that motherly glint in her eye and I knew then and there Esme saw Bella as the second daughter she's wanted for so long. "She also requested to have you put on the birth certificate as his father."

"She did?"

"She did as long as it was okay with you."

"Of course that's okay with me. That's….that's way more than I was expecting." That was the part in the conversation when I felt myself drift off into dreamland much to my dismay.

* * *

I awoke to a heavy weight lying on my hand that had made it fall asleep. I had that awful tingling sensation that I hated so much. I opened my eyes to discover Edward's beautiful locks of hair lying asleep by my bedside. His face was peaceful and undisturbed that despite the tingling feeling I did not want to wake up him from his slumber. I delicately tried to weasel my hand out from under his head when a not so discreet nurse walked in startling him.

"Where's Nurse Cooper?" I immediately asked. Though our conversation was short earlier, she was a very personable person and I liked her a lot.

"She went home for the night but she'll be back in the morning. Do you need anything?" She huffed. She was obviously not happy being here on the grave yard shift.

"Can I get a little water? My throat is so parched."

"Yeah I'll be right back. Do you need any pain medication?" Now that she mentioned it my stomach felt like it was on fire.

"Please, that would be fantastic." Edward head shot up as soon as Nurse crabby pants slammed the door behind her.

"I didn't do it I swear!" I looked at him amusedly as his hand looked around the room taking in his surroundings. "I'm not 6 and we're not at home are we?" He asked with a sheepish look gracing his beautiful features.

"No Edward, I'm afraid that is not the case." I chuckled to myself when he groaned and sat back in his chair rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What time is it?" Edward glanced down at the silver watched that was linked around his wrist.

"It's just past midnight. Why are you awake?"

"I guess I woke up from the pain without knowing it."

"Do you need me to get you a nurse?" He was already moving to get up when I reached out to grab his arm.

"That's why you woke up…because the nurse came in. She's bringing me some water and some pain medicine when she comes back."

"Oh alright. So…" He trailed off as his gaze began to intensify as he took in my features. I suddenly became self-conscious as he continued to stare. Finally, I had had enough.

"Edward Cullen, didn't your mother ever teach you not to stare?"

"Sorry I just couldn't help but take in your beauty." He breathed his famous crooked smile taking over his features.

"You can be so ridiculous sometimes." I chuckled but immediately winced in pain. Edward's face turned dead serious after he saw my slip up.

"Where is that damn nurse with your pain medication?"

"She'll be here…she's got lots of other patients." I reasoned with him.

"Sorry it took me so long, we had a little accident down the hall that needed to be taken care of." Nurse whatever her name is came over to my bedside and picked up the wire from my IV and injected in the fluid that was contained in the syringe. I immediately felt the heavy feeling the pain medication brings on. "How's that feel?"

"How's what feel?" I joked with her as the medication began to take its full effect. She turned and stalked out of the room. For a minute there I thought that she might have had a change of heart towards me but it appeared as if she felt the same.

"Go sleep love and tomorrow will be a new day and maybe if all goes well you'll be able to see that beautiful little boy you had."

"Tell me about him Edward." I hummed out as my body began to feel so heavy.

"He's beautiful. He's so tiny. His little hand can barely wrap around my pinkie finger. He's got your nose too. I can't wait to see him once he's off the ventilator." Edward crooned to me.

"Will you hum for me?" I asked sleepily as I snuggled into my blankets.

"Anything for you love, anything." Edward made himself comfortable in the chair beside me and grasped my hand in his as he began to hum the beautiful melody he had written for me months ago. I felt my body relax entirely and my mind gave way to sleep.

* * *

_We were dancing in a beautiful green meadow. It was just the two of us wrapped in each other's arms as we spun around and around. Edward was dressed to the nines in his black tuxedo. He looked as sharp as could be even with his messy hair. I lifted my hands and tangled them in the back of his head wrapping the small waves around my finger. _

_He leaned his head ever so slightly and kissed my lips in the tenderest kiss I had ever experienced. Edward placed his hands delicately on my face and deepened the kiss slightly. When we pulled away we were both breathless as we leaned our foreheads against each other. _

"_You look stunning tonight…absolutely breathtakingly beautiful." Edward's mouth began to move down my neck planting tiny butterfly kisses down my neck. It was then I noticed the long flowy white dress I was dressed in. I moved my left hand away from Edward's head long enough to take in the sight of the intricate diamond engagement ring and matching wedding band that now adorned my left ring finger. _

"_We're married?" I gasped out still in shock at the sight of the two rings that had now become a permanent fixture on my finger. _

"_Of course we are silly Bella! Today is our wedding day." _

"_Where is everyone?" Edward spun me around making even my klutzy form seem like a graceful ballerina. He smiled down at me and suddenly the whole meadow was lit in beautiful white Christmas lights._

_

* * *

_I opened my eyes and groaned at the bright sunlight that was leaking through the room. As my eyes began to focus I noticed that I was alone in the room. A slight panic began to set in as I searched around for Edward. As painful as it was for me, I tried to pull myself up to a sitting position on the bed. As I moved a bit more the pain began to subside and I was able to swing my legs off of the bed. Before I could hoist myself up, Carlisle walked in.

"Where do you think you are off to?"

"I woke up and Edward wasn't here so I was going to go out and see if I could find him."

"You just had major surgery Bella and you lost a lot of blood. You need to rest as much as possible and no movement without someone with you to help." Carlisle scolded me as he walked further into the room. "Edward woke up an hour ago and I told him to get up and move around so he went to see Ethan."

"When will I get to see him?"

"I think after I check you over there's no reason I can't wheel you up to the NICU to see him." Carlisle gave me a fatherly smile.

"How's my dad?"

"He's stable for now. I hope there are no other complications. Esme and the rest of the family is all down there with him."

"Good, can I see him too?"

"We'll take it one step at a time. I'm going to get a wheelchair and I'll be back soon." Carlisle placed a chaste kiss on my forehead as he walked out of my room. I settled back on the bed and waited for Carlisle to return so that I could see my baby boy for the first time. What would it be like? Up until now I hadn't really felt like a new mother. Would my son look like Phil? How could I love someone that looked like the man that beat and raped me? There were so many questions flying through my mind that I didn't know where to begin to search for answers. I only hoped that I could love Ethan with all of my heart; that I could show him just as much love as my mother and father had shown me. Ethan was my little angel and even if he looked like Phil he was most certainly not Phil. This baby was going to be loved and spoiled by everyone around him.

My stomach began to churn in anticipation of seeing my baby boy for the first time. Carlisle returned shortly after he had left with a wheelchair in tow. He helped me up from the bed and placed me into the wheelchair being sure that I was comfy and warm and that none of my wires were tangled.

"Are you ready to go?" I nodded my head as my throat had become too dry to talk. Carlisle gave me a reassuring smile as he wheeled me out of my room and up to the NICU. I could hear the gentle cries of the babies that filled the NICU and I even spotted the bronze hair of the man that I had fallen in love wit and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He looked funny as he stood there in his pink gown. Carlisle wheeled me into the NICU after giving me my very own pink gown. Edward turned and planted a gentle kiss on my lips before taking over for Carlisle and wheeling me up in front of the incubator that contained my son.

"Bella, I'd like for you to meet your son."

* * *

A/N: So lucky you guys, I found some time to update. Let's just say I tend to write when I'm distressed, for some reason it calms me in one of the best ways possible. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took me a lot longer to write than normal but I managed to get a post on here! I'm kind of proud of myself. Thank you to all of you well wishers and those of you who are keeping my family in your prayers. You guys are awesome. Also, big thanks goes out to everyone who reviewed and added me to a favorites list or alerts list. That was another reason I tried to update, you guys were so awesome to me I felt like you should get another update!

Please enjoy this chapter and don't forget to let me know what you think. I can't promise an update tomorrow but I will definitely try as much as I can to get one posted. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

~Jess


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 24**_

"_Bella, I'd like for you to meet your son." _

I watched as Edward moved out of my line of sight and I got a clear view of the tiny baby boy that was lying inside of the incubator. His tiny little stomach would expand with each breath the ventilator would make for him. I moved myself forward a little bit and slowly reached my hand inside. The moment my fingers touched the delicate skin of his arm I knew I would never have any problems loving this baby.

"You're so beautiful." I whispered out to no one in particular. I felt the love radiate off of my body as I continued to stare fondly at the life I had created inside me.

"He looks like his mother." Edward quietly spoke from beside me.

"I'll give you two some time alone with Ethan, page me if you need me." Carlisle excused himself from the room leaving just Edward and me with our son.

"Have you held him yet?" I asked Edward. I was almost jealous of the fact that Edward may have gotten to hold Ethan before me.

"No love, he hasn't left the confines of that incubator since he was delivered. He still needs time to develop before we can hold him. "

"Right, I forgot he was only born yesterday. It seems like so long ago." We gazed on at the tiny life in front of us for another few minutes before Edward decided to break the silence with his silly question.

"So of course I understand why you gave him the name Charlie but why Ethan?"

"You'll laugh at me if I tell you why."

"I won't laugh, I pinkie swear." He held out his pinkie finger towards me in an agreement. I linked my finger with his before taking a deep breath of air.

"I named him Ethan…because I had the biggest crush on Ethan Hawk growing up and I swore I would name my first born son Ethan."

"And you held on to that promise?" I could hear how hard he was trying to hold back laughter and I felt my own face twitch with a smile.

"It's not like Ethan is a funny name or anything. It was one of the most popular names at some point."

"I know love, I was just curious as to where you got Ethan from. I figured you would name him Edward Jr."

"Pompous ass." I muttered under my breath.

"You still love me." He joked. I scowled at him for a bit before turning my gaze back towards Ethan who was stirring in his incubator.

"Are you the mother?" A friendly looking nurse came up to us and began to check over Ethan.

"I am. Thank you for everything you are doing for him."

"It's no problem Miss Swan. You're little boy here is quite a fighter. He's holding strong despite the fact that he's so premature."

"He takes after his grandfather." I felt tears come to my eyes as I thought about the still unconscious body of my father just two floors below us.

"He'll be home before you know it." With that last statement she went on to check on the other babies in the nursery.

"I can only hope so." I was hoping that both my dad and my son would be home soon. I just wanted this nightmare to be over with.

"I'm loving getting to spend time with Ethan and everything and I love him dearly but I really need to see my dad. I haven't been able to see him much since we've gotten here."

"Of course love. Ethan is in good hands."

"I know he is." Edward walked around to the back of my wheelchair and turned me around slowly after we said our goodbyes to the baby. He wheeled me down the hall towards the elevators where we climbed on and made our way down to the intensive care unit where they were keeping my dad. All of the family was in the room, Rose and Emmett, Esme, Alice and Jasper, Carlisle too.

"How is he?" I asked as Edward wheeled me in next to Charlie's bedside.

"He's stable. We're just waiting to see if he'll come out of this coma." I looked over to my brother who looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Emmett when was the last time you went home and slept…and showered?" I wrinkled my nose. I could smell him from here.

"I couldn't leave you guys here. What if something had happened while I was at home catching some shut eye?"

"You need to take care of yourself. What good would you have been to us if you weren't in a healthy state yourself?" I questioned him. Both of us were seated at Charlie's bedsides with our hands clasped in his.

"I'll make sure he gets home and at least showers Bells." Rose piped up her opinion from the other side of the room where she sat with the rest of the Cullens.

"How about we give Emmett and Bella some time with their dad? There's no use in all of us being in here intruding on their family time." Carlisle and Esme shooed everyone out of the room. I sent Edward a longing glance before his mother pushed him out.

"How are you feeling Bella-bear?"

"I'm doing okay, a lot better than dad is doing I can see." I looked down at my dad as I tried to hold back tears.

"Have you seen Ethan yet?"

"I just came from there. He's so tiny!" I gushed.

"He is. He looks just like you."

"I know, you have no idea how unbelievably glad I am for that. If he had…I don't know what I would have done."

"That is going to be one of the most spoiled children on the planet. Between me and dad alone Ethan is never going to have to worry about being bored or unloved." I chuckled as I thought about just how much stuff Ethan was going to acquire thanks to his aunts and uncles and grandparents. We continued to sit there in silence just enjoying the presence of our family.

"I'm really glad that you came here Bella. I'm glad that you got away from…you were the missing link." Emmett's voice was laced with so much emotion as he spoke.

"I'm glad I'm here too. You all have changed my life in so many ways. I can't believe I've been missing all of you for this long." My thoughts were cut off as I felt a small squeeze on my hand. I gasped and looked down at where my hand lay connected with Charlie's.

"Dad?" I whispered out still in a slight state of shock. I couldn't tell if I had imagined the squeeze or not. My eyes locked down on our joined hands willing him to squeeze my hand again. "Come on dad you can do it." I felt another light squeeze and my insides started to do flips.

"Bells? What is it?" Emmett's eyes stayed focused on me. He probably thought I was officially losing it by the way I was acting. I was too excited to speak any words to him so I just continued to stare. I felt another gentle squeeze and my smile became even bigger. Emmett's eyes suddenly diverted to his own hand that was joined with Charlie's.

"Do you feel it?" He nodded his head also in too much of a state of shock to speak. I reached my other arm forward and pushed the call button on the bed next to Charlie's head. Immediately Carlisle and a team of nurses came rushing into the room with a crash cart following behind them.

"Bella! What's wrong? The monitors at the nurse's station weren't beeping. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine but Carlisle I think he's waking up." I whispered out my eyes still trained on Charlie's hand. Carlisle inched his way closer to me and looked down at our joined hands. He immediately noticed the small movements he was making.

"Talk to him Bella. Coax him out of the coma." He whispered to me.

"Daddy…it's me Bells. We need you here. I need you. Please, come back to us. I'm sorry that I allowed Phil to hurt you like this. Please come back, you still need to see your grandson. I love you dad." I gave his hand a squeeze as his eyelids began to flutter.

"Dad?" Emmett piped up finally as he swiped a few tears from his eyes. Charlie's eyes flew open suddenly and I felt the barrier break as I stared back into the familiar chocolate brown eyes.

"Dad!" We both shrieked.

"You're awake." I whispered.

"Charlie, I need you to stay calm for a minute, alright? I need to take the breathing tube out." Carlisle moved my chair out of the way for a minute and reclined Charlie's bed back all the way. "Can you bring in some ice chips and a cup of water please?" He spoke to the nurse. "Just hold still." He quickly unhooked the ventilator and removed the tube that had been helping Charlie breathe. My dad coughed for a while before the nurse returned and handed him a cup of water, which he began to sip.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like absolute shi…crap." He caught himself before he finished that statement. My dad was never one to cuss unless he was really frustrated.

"You don't need to contain yourself dad we're all adults here."

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Emmett asked still in shock.

"I…no not really."

"Phil shot you. You came to find me and save me and got into a fight with Phil and he shot you." I cried. I was like reliving it all over again as I remember hearing the gunshots ring throughout the air.

"Oh…right. I remember now. What about Phil?" His face turned menacing as he thought about him.

"He's dead." Emmett stated with such fierceness in his voice I had never heard before.

"Good that bastard deserved what was coming. How are you Bella?" He quickly changed the topic to bring the mood back up in the room.

"I'm okay dad. I'm in much better condition than you are. We didn't think you would make it." Fresh tears pricked at my eyes as I thought about the prospect of losing my dad after just getting him back.

"What about the baby?" He rasped out.

"He's good. He needs some help breathing but he's strong."

"What's his name?" His voice was getting weaker as he continued to speak and I knew that he was going to need rest soon.

"Ethan Charlie Swan." I watched as tears began to form in my father's eyes as I told him the name of his grandson. "You need to rest dad, your body still needs to heal." I swiped my finger over his hair gently in an attempt to coax him back to sleep.

"I've been sleeping for how many days now?" He replied not wanting to miss anymore of the family moments.

"Now I know where Bella gets her stubbornness from Dad, you need rest. I'm sure Carlisle will back me up on that."

"You do need to rest your mind Charlie. Your voice is already starting to weaken from overusing it. We're going to take this very slow." Charlie nodded and settled back into bed and closed his eyes. Within moments we all heard the gentle breathing of my father as he succumbed to his much needed sleep. "Bella, I think you need to get back to your room as well. You're looking very worn down. I don't want you getting sick as well."

"But…he just woke up! What if something happens?"

"Bella, he'll be fine. Go rest some. Carlisle's right you're beginning to look more like death warmed over." Emmett scolded as he stood up from his place next to dad. He walked over and embraced me in a gentle hug. "When you wake up, you can come and see him again."

"Come on love, let's get you to bed." I nodded and allowed Edward to push my chair back up to my room and tuck me into bed. "Sleep my Bella so that you can finally come home."

"Thank you for staying here with me and never going home."

"No problem love. I'd do anything for you, however, I do need to go to class tomorrow for that big test I was telling you about before everything happened. I'll only be gone for a few hours."

"That's alright, I'll be okay." He smiled down at me and began to hum my lullaby. I felt my eyes begin to droop close as the fatigue finally caught up with me.

"I love you." He murmured right before sleep encompassed me.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for all of your support and prayers! You guys have truly been awesome! Here's another update for all of you avid readers. I hope you enjoy it and let's just say the romance is about to finally kick in and I am more than excited! I cannot wait to finally allow Bella the true happiness that she deserves in this story. I am so ready to write out that proposal chapter. **

**Well, I hope that you enjoy this chapter...I was kind of torn for a while as to whether I wanted to kill of Charlie but then I figured it just wouldn't be the same without him. Please enjoy this new update and review! I love hearing all of your comments; they just make my day. Also, who is excited for New Moon in 9 days! Can you believe it? I'm so ready for next Thursday so I can go to the midnight showing. Enjoy and let me know what you think! **

**~Jess**


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25**_

It had been weeks since I was released from the hospital. I was enjoying being able to move around freely at home and also sleep in my own bed but part of me was upset at the fact that I could not bring home Ethan yet. He had been in the hospital for almost a month now but Carlisle was just telling me about how Ethan may be able to be discharged in the next couple of days. I was beyond excited at that prospect. Ever since I was discharged Alice, Esme, Rose and I had been planning and decorating the nursery as well as stocking it with every supply imaginable for a baby. Alice had also gone a little bit over the top when it came to shopping for baby clothes. Ethan probably had more clothes than he would ever need for his first year of life however Auntie Alice insisted that he would be growing out of things like no tomorrow.

Since Charlie was going to need a lot of assistance getting around for the next few months Carlisle and Esme offered to have him move into their house. Charlie agreed after some gentle coaxing from Emmett and me. We argued that since the two of us already lived here why shouldn't he? At least now we could be a family especially with the approaching holiday.

"How's the nursery coming love?" Edward snuck up behind me and wrapped his solid arms around my shrinking waistline.

"It's almost finished. Esme said she's just waiting on the rocking chair she found and then it'll be complete." I continued to fold the new batch of washed baby clothes thanks to another one of Alice's shopping sprees.

"Do you need any help with that?"

"That'd be wonderful." I smiled up at him and placed some of the baby clothes in his lap. "How are classes going?"

"I cannot wait for the break to start. I'm going to have to start locking myself away though so I can cram for finals." He looked at me sadly as he said that. After I had been discharged from the hospital Edward and me had not been separated for very long. We spent every waking moment together just doing simple things like visiting Ethan or reading together.

"Studying…sounds like so much fun." I replied sarcastically. He responded by throwing one of Ethan's onesies at me.

"You know I'd much rather be spending time with you and the baby."

"I know. School comes first though. I feel bad enough that you've basically tied yourself down to Ethan and me and your life hasn't even begun yet. I'm not going to take your education away either."

"I want nothing more in life than to be with you and Ethan. I love you Bella. I love you so much that it hurts sometimes." Our conversation took a serious turn and I almost missed the playful banter that had been going on not 5 seconds before.

"I love you too Edward." He placed a gentle kiss on my lips before returning his concentration to the pile of clothes in front of him. "So what can I get you for Christmas this year?" I asked him quickly changing the subject.

"I already have everything I could want in life."

"You are a such a cheese ball!" I scoffed at him. "Now really, what do you want?"

"I think you'll figure it out."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Before Edward could answer my question his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. While he answered the phone I took the folded laundry and took it over to Ethan's room. Esme's creativity surprised me. She had created a simple and unique nursery while still managing to keep it to something that I would like. She had chosen a pale blue and a light brown coffee color for the walls. All of the furniture was made of light oak and complimented the brown and blue perfectly. She had also taken several pictures of Ethan while he was in the hospital and had printed them out and framed them. My eyes scanned over the framed black and white photo of the first time I had gotten to hold Ethan.

_**Flashback**_

_I had just been discharged from the hospital a few days ago and after a day of bed rest I had been allowed to come and visit my son who was still trapped in the NICU. I was sitting in the rocker with Edward by my side when a nurse approached us. _

"_Would you like to hold him Ms. Swan?" _

"_You mean…I can finally hold him." _

"_I think it would be okay if you did. It would probably be better for him." She smiled at me as she went to remove Ethan from the confines of the plastic container he had been living in and carefully made sure she didn't tangle the couple of wires that were protruding from him. "He could use some mothers love." She gently placed the tiny human in my arms and made sure that he was safe before giving us some time alone with him. _

"_I…it hasn't felt entirely real until right now." I cradled the baby gently in my arms. Edward had tears in his eyes as he looked on at the scene before him. I looked back down at my baby who had opened his eyes. He had the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes. _

"_He has your eyes Bella." _

"_Do you want to hold him?" There were too many emotions running through my mind and I needed a moment to collect myself before I had an emotional breakdown. _

"_I don't know…I've never…what if I drop him?" Edward looked so adorable as he debated between holding his son and the possibilities he had of dropping him. _

"_You've got to learn sometime. If you're going to drop him at least do it here where the doctors can fix him up." I joked. _

"_Bella, that is not something to joke about." I stood up with Ethan still gently cradled in arms and motioned for Edward to take my place on the rocker. After he had situated himself and made himself comfortable I kissed Ethan on the forehead and delicately placed him in Edward's capable arms. I felt a smile twinge at my lips as I noticed how tensed Edward became. Ethan began to stir and his little mouth opened slightly to let out a small wail. _

"_Edward, you need to relax. He can tell that you're scared and he doesn't like it." I watched as Edward's shoulders visibly relaxed and before long Ethan had cuddled up inside of the crook of his arm and was back to sleeping soundly. _

"_How did you know that?" _

"_I remember from when I used to babysit the baby next door sometimes." I shrugged. Now that the tender moment I was sharing with Ethan had been broken I was able to turn around and compose myself for a minute. _

_**End Flashback**_

Esme had really outdone herself with this nursery. Poor little Ethan was probably going to go blind after all of the flash photography that had been going on. Between Esme and Alice alone there were so many photographs taken of his first weeks of life. Now the best of those pictures now adorned the walls of the nursery.

"Hey Bella, my dad was wondering if we could come down to the hospital." I turned around at the sound of Edward's voice to find him leaning against the doorway.

"Yeah, that'd be great." I pulled myself away from the photographs and made my way into my room to change before allowing Edward to escort me downstairs and into the car.

"Did Carlisle say why he wanted us to come down? Ethan's okay right?"

"Ethan's fine love. Carlisle just thought he looked lonely." I had a sneaking suspicion that Edward was lying to me and I couldn't help the worry that was beginning to settle my stomach. "Calm down Bella. If there was something wrong with Ethan I would've let you know." Despite Edward's reassurance I still felt that panic begin to overtake me.

As soon as Edward parked the car into one of the visitor's spots I dashed from my seat and into the sliding doors. I raced my way up towards the NICU and found Carlisle speaking quietly with Dr. Sheppard.

"Where is he? Is he alright?"

"Of course Bella, Ethan is fine. He's been stable ever since he was delivered." Carlisle calmed me down some but I was waiting for Addison Sheppard to break some sort of bad news.

"Actually, Ethan is doing so well in fact that I think should everything go alright tonight that he could go home tomorrow."

"You mean…I can take him home? He doesn't have to stay here anymore?"

"He's breathing on his own and he's almost a month old now, I think that as long as you bring him back for routine check ups there's no reason that he can't spend the holidays with the family." I attacked Addison Shepherd with the strongest hug I could muster while still being mindful of the incision in my abdomen.

"You have just given me the best Christmas present ever." I whispered to her.

"The good news does not end there my dear." Carlisle spoke. I looked at him curiously as I let go of Dr. Shepherd and regained my composure. "I am going to be releasing your dad today and he too will be able to come back and recover at home. He should be back on his feet in a couple more weeks." I felt the tears spill from my eyes as I was informed that both my father and my son would be coming home.

"I could not be happier right now." Edward wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a gentle embrace.

"Let's go up and spend some time with your son." He reached down and grasped my hand in his before nodding at Addison and Carlisle.

"You know Edward he may not be your son by genetics but he is your son. I put you down on the birth certificate as his father."

"I know love, I just didn't know how you felt about me calling him my son right now."

"I think it would be a wonderful idea if you referred to him as your son."

"Thank you Bella you have no idea how happy that makes me feel." We stepped into the nursery and looked at our son who had now been moved out of an incubator. Edward reached into the bassinet and carefully cradled Ethan to his chest soothing him gently. I smiled at the tender moment between father and son. A nurse quietly approached us and gave us a warm smile.

"I think he's getting hungry Bella." I nodded and Edward handed him over to me. I took my place in the rocker and cradled my son to my chest. Edward was kind enough to drape a blanket over me and then turn around to give me privacy. I didn't know how I would ever repay him for all of his kindness and understand towards me. Most men would have turned their backs on a challenge such as this but not Edward. He was holding strong and never complained about anything. I almost feared that any day now he would realize how much of a burden Ethan and me really were to him and leave us. In the back of my mind, I knew Edward could never be like that but part of me still wondered how he was managing to cope so well with all the sudden changes that had taken over his life.

After I had gotten Ethan settled and could feel him gently suckling I informed Edward that he could turn around. He quickly turned to face me and flashed me that beautiful crooked smile that I adored so much. We sat there in silence as our son drank himself to contentment. It wasn't but a little while later when I handed him over to Edward to burp so I could clean myself up. When I returned to where Edward and Ethan were I found my baby boy sound asleep on Edward's chest.

"Oh to be a baby…" I sighed. I could only wish that life were that easy again.

"You know how hard eating can be, it really tuckers you out." He saracastically replied as he gazed down at the sleeping baby. He continued to rock back and forth in the other rocking chair he had brought over as our son slept and I continued to gaze upon them. Carlisle came up a short while later disturbing the calm silence that had descended over us.

"I'm getting ready to discharge Charlie and I would drive him home myself but I have two more surgeries lined up for this afternoon so would you mind taking him home?"

"I can take him home." Edward quietly whispered so as not to wake the little angel. "You can stay here if you would like Bella and I can come back and get you when I get Charlie settled."

"No, it's okay. I should probably go back and get things ready tomorrow since Ethan will be able to go home." He nodded and stood up carefully and placed Ethan back into his bassinet being sure that he was safe and sound before leaving.

"I love you my little munchkin. Don't get into too much trouble while mommy and daddy are gone." I smiled to myself as Edward took on the role of father. It all came so naturally to him and part of me was slightly jealous. "Let's go get your dad home."

I followed him out into the hallway and down to my dad's room already missing my little munch. We knocked on the door and entered to find Charlie already up and moving about packing the items we had brought him from home. He was looking so much better now then when he first woke up. The color in his face had returned and he was back to his usual fatherly self.

"Hey dad, you all ready to get out of here?"

"Hell yes! I have been cooped up within these four walls for way too long. I need some fresh air and some real food." Charlie joked as he placed the last of his clothes in the duffel bag. Edward took it from him despite Charlie's protests and brought it down to the car.

"I just need you to sign these forms right here Charlie and then you'll be all good to go." Carlisle handed him the discharge papers, which Charlie eagerly signed. "Well, it looks like I will be seeing you at home." A nurse walked in pushing a wheelchair for Charlie so we could get out of there.

"Let's get out of this place." I chuckled at my dad's excitement. Charlie was never one for emotions and seeing him act so much like a child was really tickling me pink. I followed the nurse out to a waiting Edward and slid into the front seat of the car as Edward sped off towards the house. I wasn't sure how much better my life could get right now. My father had been discharged after making a full recovery, my son was coming home tomorrow, the man who had taken away everything from me was dead and would never interfere in my life again and I had the most wonderful and caring man who loved me despite all of the baggage that I carried with me. If this was how the rest of my life was going to be, I had no complaints.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that this update took me a while to get up but it's finally here. The next chapter will be the one you all have been waiting for for a while now so get excited. I've already started writing it and I hope to have it up on the day that New Moon premieres. I am really excited about this one and I can't wait for you all to read it. I can only hope that it satisfies the romantic element that you are wanting this story to have. **

**Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me this far. I hope you will continue to read this story and let me know what you think. Let's get excited for New Moon, it's almost here and I cannot wait. Maybe it will even stimulate all of my creative juices so I can post a whole bunch of new chapters. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy this one and as always don't forget to let me know what you think. You guys are truly awesome and I couldn't have written this without all of your support. **

**Now let's get pumped for FRIDAY!!!!!  
**

**~Jess **


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26 (Edward's POV)**_

I had been planning the events of this week for months now and I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that it was finally here. I was a mix of so many nerves that I didn't even know what exactly I was feeling right at this point. I had my doubts of course; I mean asking a girl who I had only known for a few weeks short of a year to marry me was going to be quite a challenge. Sure, there were plenty of other couples that had done this a lot sooner than I was and everything worked out for them but we are only kids. I'm in my 3rd semester of college and Bella is hopefully going to be starting her first next spring after the holidays. Logically speaking, we were in no position to be getting married and living on our own.

I had to do this though. Bella needed a support system for her and Ethan. Ethan needed to know that he had a family even though the start of it wasn't exactly as Bella had planned. I needed to do this for myself, to reassure myself that everything was going to be okay. And also to affirm to myself that Bella was never going to leave my side. I loved her so much and the idea of losing her was more than I could ever stand to bear.

Ethan and Charlie had been home for 2 weeks now and life was slowly beginning to return to normal. Carlisle assured me that both Ethan and Charlie would be able to fly over to Disney World like planned ahead of time with the rest of my family. Bella had no idea as to what was going on and I was planning on keeping it that way.

"Edward, can you get Ethan from the nursery? I need to feed him but my hands are a little preoccupied."

"Of course love! I'll be there in a second!" I made my way down from the library my dad had put into our house where he kept all of his medical journals and made my way towards Ethan's nursery. After I collected him and swaddled him in a blanket I brought him to Bella who was juggling a few dishes in an attempt to bring them out to Charlie. Even though he had been discharged from the hospital, Carlisle was still ordering him to rest as much as possible. His body had been through a severe trauma and he needed time to heal and recuperate.

"Just take him out to where dad is, I'll be right behind you." I turned and walked through the open doorway towards the living room where a reclining Charlie could be seen with Emmett and Jasper. She handed him one of the plates she had prepared and helped set him up so he could eat. After she had situated herself in the recliner I handed the baby over to her and helped to cover her with the baby blanket.

"So Edward, you still haven't explained to me what exactly is going on for the holidays? You've been keeping me so in the dark." She began to pester me about the upcoming holiday as she fed Ethan. Emmett and Charlie both gave me a knowing glance before returning their attention back to the television.

"I already told you that Carlisle and Esme have arranged for you and I to go somewhere special and have our own holiday. Esme has already said she'll be taking care of Ethan so that we can have some time alone."

"Yes however isn't the point of Christmas to spend time with family?"

"It is but we are going to be spending time together, it is our first Christmas together after all. I want it to be special."

"Can I at least know where we are going?"

"Nope." I shook my head and flashed her my crooked smile.

"How am I supposed to know what I need to pack?" Her eyes narrowed into slits as she continued to try and pry information out of me.

"Alice and Rose will take care of everything for you. You don't have to worry about a thing."

"Edward Anthony Cullen…you know that I do not like surprises. There better not be anything extravagant being planned in that little brain of yours." She elevated the volume of her voice just enough to get her point across but not enough to disturb the now milk-induced coma Ethan was now in. Emmett chuckled lightly under his breath and I quickly sent him a death glare. "What in heaven's name is going on around here? Does everyone know what is going on except me?" The exasperated tone in her voice almost made me cave in and tell her everything that I had planned but I quickly stopped myself from blowing everything to pieces.

"You are just going to have to wait until tomorrow when we get ready to leave." She scowled one more time and shot me another glare before stomping up the stairs with Ethan. After I was sure she was out of earshot I turned my attention towards the two giggling men in front of me. "Emmett! You very nearly gave me away!" I scolded him. He just burst into more laughter as I began to yell at him like a child.

"You very nearly gave yourself away. I saw that loss of resolve look cross your face when she turned on you."

"Oh shut up Emmett!" I flopped back down into the couch and crossed my arms over my chest.

"So, is everything arranged?" Charlie asked from his spot on the recliner.

"As far as I know everything has been taken care of. Magic Kingdom will be closing an hour early so that the staff can set everything up and I'll get her there around 7:30 hopefully. I think they'll bring you guys in earlier than us and set you up with dinner and everything. Do you know what time you guys are leaving tonight?"

"I think Carlisle said that a car was coming around midnight tonight to pick us up. She'll be asleep before then so she won't even notice us leaving."

"Good…now I just hope that this has a happy ending."

* * *

Everything went smoothly last night. Bella fell asleep with Ethan like she normally would a little after nine at which point I placed my son back into the cradle by our bed and tucked in a sleeping Bella. Shortly after midnight two black suburban's pulled up into our driveway and the rest of my family including my son piled into the car and headed off to sunny Florida.

I was too excited and anxious to actually sleep myself so I locked myself in the study and worked on what exactly I was going to say to Bella. I wanted everything to be perfect for her because she deserved nothing less. Before long, the sun began to peak through the blinds and I decided to make Bella and I some breakfast. In order to calm her suspicious I did in fact have a tiny gift to give her. I knew Bella wasn't one for gifts and for attention so I made sure that it was something small and inexpensive.

"What smells so wonderfully delicious?"

"Well, I figured that I would make my beautiful girlfriend some breakfast before we headed to the airport." I plated the French toast and eggs and bacon and set the steaming plate in front of her. I let a chuckle escape as I heard her stomach grumble loudly.

"Where's Ethan?" Her eyes focused on the baby monitor that sat on the kitchen counter shut off.

"He's with the rest of the family. They left early to go to my family's cabin up in Vancouver. They'll be back when we get back."

"It feels so strange not having him here. I don't know how I feel about it." Ethan may have only been home a few weeks but Bella had never been separated from him for longer than the trip to the hospital was from the house. I was amazed at how well she was coping with the separation. We sat in silence for the rest of the breakfast the only noise that could be heard was the chewing coming from our mouths.

Before long the time had come for us to make our way to the airport. Carlisle had arranged for a private plane so the destination could remain a secret for longer. I had just loaded the last bit of luggage into the car that had been sent to fetch us when Bella came out.

"Are you all ready to go love?" I took her hand in my own and guided her towards the black sedan sitting in the gravel driveway of what had become our home.

"I guess, I don't really know since I don't know where I'm going or how long I'm going or anything." She sighed dramatically and slid her way into the car.

"You're going to love it." I only hoped that she was going to love what I had planned. I only hoped that she would say yes to my question. The ring that was now sitting in the pocket of my pants was beginning to feel more and more like lead weight. Almost an hour later we finally arrived at the airport where our luggage was quickly unloaded and we were escorted to our plane.

"Really Edward? A private plate? Why in heaven's name are we flying on a private plane?" I laughed at Bella's exasperation.

"Because, love, if we had flown with everyone else, you would know where we are going as soon as we arrived. At least this way the surprise remains a surprise."

"This is a ridiculous way to spend money. There are kids in Africa who are living off of a dollar a day and barely able to eat and we're flying on a freaking private jet so that your surprise can stay a surprise. Where's the logic in that?"

"Just hush love. I agree that this isn't the most practical way of doing things but for once just accept the gift without complains." I gave her a puppy dog look I knew her softened heart could not resist and smiled victoriously as she sighed in defeat.

We sat aboard the plane entertaining ourselves with cards and movies and each other. The 7-hour plane ride seemed shorter than it normally would because I was in Bella's company. The last leg of our flight was spent cuddling beneath a blanket on the built in couch.

"We will be beginning our descent to our destination." The pilot announced over the loud speaker.

"So am I going to get to know where we are finally going?"

"Not until we get to the airport love and that's only if you can figure it out from there." I smiled at her and she scoffed at me while she buckled her seat belt.

"I miss my little munchkin." Her playful demeanor had fast turned to sorrow as she began to think our son.

"Hey, he's going to be okay. He's probably buried in presents right now thanks to his family."

"It's his first Christmas and I wasn't even there to open gifts with him. How bad of a mother does that make me? I won't be in any of the pictures or anything."

"Love, just calm down. We're going to have another Christmas together when we get back. Carlisle and Esme did this so that we can have some alone time and just be together. You've been through a lot you just need to clear your mind. This way you can start of the new year with a fresh head."

"I know but I'm a mom now, I don't come first anymore."

"Even mother's need a break. Don't let this spoil the vacation just let yourself have fun. It may be the last opportunity you get."

"I guess so." We deboarded the plane soon after Bella had come to terms with the idea of leaving behind Ethan. Little did she know that he was currently enjoying his first trip to Disney World with the rest of our families and that we'd be seeing him soon enough. "Oh it's so warm!" Bella stepped off the last step and did a few spins around reveling in the warm air.

"I figured you would want to get away from the yucky cold climate of Forks and get some sunshine."

"I've missed the sun and the warm air." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to take in everything. She was simply beautiful and I stared on in awe.

"Simply beautiful. That is what you are."

"Oh hush Edward." I watched as her cheeks turned that beautiful shade of tomato red that I have grown to love so much. After we had spent a few minutes in the warm air, I led Bella to the awaiting car.

"Would you humor me for a second?"

"That depends on what it would take to humor you."

"Can you wear this for me just so that you aren't prematurely surprised or anything." I held up the silk light blue scarf.

"You're kidding me right? Am I ever going to find out about this surprise?"

"Just trust me?"

"Whatever." She turned around in the seat and I delicately placed the blindfold over her eyes tying it snugly.

"We're almost there love, I promise." The car soon pulled up to the front of the Grand Floridian hotel and resort where Carlisle had so graciously booked us a room. When the car came to a halt, I sprinted out and hurried to the other side to open Bella's door. "Okay Bella. I'm about to remove the blindfold." I warned her as I reached around and untied the knot. I heard her small gasp as the sight before her unveiled.

"You brought me to Disney World!?"

"Your dad told me that you had never been before but that you have always wanted to go. I figured now would be as good a time as ever."

"Edward!" She wrapped her tiny arms around my lithe frame and jumped up wrapping her legs around my waist. "Thank you so much! I'm so sorry for all the crap I've been giving you. I just passionately dislike surprises 99.9% of the time but this one I will most certainly take."

"I'm glad that you like it love but now I think we need to get checked in so we can go and explore."

"Oh yes please!" She tugged my arm as she made her way into the grand lobby of the Grand Floridian. I stationed Bella on a sofa while I went to check us in.

"Edward Cullen."

"Ah, yes Mr. Cullen. We've been expecting you." The concierge greeted.

"Is everything all set up?"

"I believe so. If there is anything else that you would like for us to do please speak to anyone on staff." The lady smiled at me and handed me two key cards with the room number. "Welcome to Disney World Mr. Cullen and I hope that you have a magical stay."

"Thank you." I walked back over to Bella and collected the two duffel bags before guiding her to the elevators and up to our floor.

"Welcome Bella dear to our home away from home." I swung open the door to reveal the elegant one bedroom suite Carlisle had reserved. There was a small living space with a decently sized television, not that we would be using that. Through one of the doors was a large bedroom with a huge king size bed.

"This is…amazing." Bella whispered out as she ran her fingers lightly over the wooden table. "I…I don't even know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. I just want you to make sure that you have fun and that you relax and that you forget about everything that has happened in the past year."

"Well, it's a good thing you took me to the most magical place on Earth because that would require a miracle."

"That was kind of cheesy there love."

"I know but I couldn't resist." Bella flopped herself on the couch and sighed dramatically. "So what's on the agenda first?"

"Well, we don't have anything planned until tonight. I figured that until then we could just lounge around and relax. We have been traveling all day."

"That sounds like a fantastic plan." Bella and I continued to just lounge around the hotel room for the next couple of hours. Eventually she wanted to get up and explore the extravagant lobby that was like 7 floors below us. It was like I had unleashed a small child in a candy store as Bella took in every detail of the resort. Before long we made our way back up to our room and I prepared myself for what was to come. To say that I was nervous was a major understatement; in fact I think I was way beyond nerves. I excused myself from Bella for a moment and put a phone call into my father.

"Dad?" I asked once I heard his end connect. "We're going to be heading down to the park soon."

"We're all here just enjoying ourselves and I think we're all anxious to see the events of tonight unfold. Lord knows Alice is more than ready to plan a wedding. How are you feeling about everything?"

"My stomach is doing flip flops like crazy. Maybe this is what it feels like to be pregnant with all of the constant movement I'm experiencing."

"Just remember to breathe son and trust that everything will go well. We're all here waiting take your time and we'll see you in a couple hours."

"Thanks Dad." I closed the phone and made my way back into the room to find Bella all ready to go. She had dressed slightly nice in a flowy blue skirt and a white tank top with a black cardigan. "You look gorgeous."

"You're looking pretty handsome yourself."

"Are you all ready to go?"

"You bet, let's get the magic started!" I grinned at her and led her out of the hotel. This was probably going to be one of the biggest moments of my life. I could only pray that Bella would accept my proposal. We made our way down to the lobby and onto the monorail and headed towards Magic Kingdom where the big event would be taking place.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry guys, I know I promised you that this would be the uber romantic chapter that all of us have been looking forward too but I wanted to build up to it a little bit more and also elaborate on their Disney adventure a little more than just the proposal. I will however promise that the next chapter will be it. Will she accept his proposal? Will she turn him down and break his heart? I guess you're just going to have to stick around and find out....**

**Also, I apologize for the lack of updates. I went to a cabin out in the middle of no where with some friends for the Thanksgiving holiday and there was no internet service whatsoever. In addition, I also managed to contract the flu from one of the kids I was with over Thanksgiving holidays and it temporarily put me in bed for a few days. Alas, here is the long awaited update and I apologize if I disappoint anyone. Oh, if this update seems a little off it's only because of how heavily medicated I have been the past couple days. My brain is still in a bit of a fog. **

**Speaking of Edward and Bella, who thought New Moon was freaking amazing!? I've already seen it like six times in theaters and it's only been out for two weeks. I loved it. I loved everything about it and I cannot wait for Eclipse now. Let the countdown begin. Anyway, enjoy this update and don't forget to let me know what you think. Sorry if it disappoints but I promise the next one will be much better. I will try and have that up either late tonight or sometime tomorrow. Enjoy and please review! Thanks guys and I love you all!  
**

**~Jess**


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27**_

As soon as I exited the monorail and stepped foot into the beautiful park that was Magic Kingdom I knew my life was complete. I had a loving boyfriend who loves me despite the baggage that comes with me and also loves my baby as if he were his own, a beautiful baby boy, a supportive and loving family. And now I was stepping foot into the most magical place on Earth. What more could a girl want?

"Before we start this adventurous day, can I give you your Christmas present first?"

"You mean there is more to your Christmas present than this pseudo-vacation?"

"Ah, this was Carlisle and Esme's gift to you, it wasn't from me."

"Okay." Edward pulled a small beautifully wrapped gift from his pants pocket and handed it to me. I carefully unwrapped the shiny wrapping paper being careful not to tear any of the edges and opened the lid of the box. Inside was a necklace with Ethan's birthstone on it.

"It matches your eyes and it will remind you of Ethan so I figured it was perfect."

"Edward…it's beautiful." I picked it up and turned around so Edward could fasten it around my neck. "Thank you so much!" He nodded and turned his attention elsewhere.

"So my love, where would you like to start first?" I looked over at Edward who was holding a park map in his hands. I knew immediately what I wanted to do first.

"I've always wanted to ride the teacups."

"The teacups it shall be then." Edward clasped my hand in his own and pulled me towards the teacups. As we walked down Main Street I began mentally making notes of everything I wanted to do. There were so many rides and attractions that my head was beginning to swim.

* * *

Two hours and almost every ride accomplished later, I was exhausted. The park was starting to close but Edward informed me that another one of Carlisle's surprises was happening after everyone had left. We sat at the one of the mini cafes on Main Street and watched as the peopled made their way towards the exit.

"What could Carlisle have possibly planned for us that we need to stay after the park closes?"

"You're just going to have to wait and find out love."

"Is everyone working in this park in on the secret too? That is so not fair by any means!" I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted like a 5 year old.

"Patience is a virtue my love, it's almost time."

"All of this discrete crap is so annoying." Finally the entire park had been emptied out and it was just Edward and me wandering around Main Street U.S.A with our hands intertwined.

"You know love, there is one place that we haven't checked out yet."

"What place is that? I feel like we've covered almost every nook and cranny of this park." I thought about the places where we hadn't been yet but nothing of significance popped into my head.

"We haven't checked out the focal point of Magic Kingdom."

"Cinderella's castle? We've already walked through it, that's all there is to do."

"That's what you think my love." Edward pulled my arm towards the colorful castle and led me to a door with a set of stairs. "After you milady." I hesitantly took to the stairs and ascended the spiral staircase. When I reached the top I was greeted with the sight of what Cinderella's castle would have looked like had her fairy tale story been real. I moved away from Edward's reach and allowed myself to take in the scenery before me. After I had been around the room and taken everything in I turned back to a very fidgety Edward.

"What's wrong?" I asked panic suddenly overtaking my voice as I noticed Edward's nervous demeanor. "Are you all right? Edward…honey…talk to me."

"I'm fine love." My nerves quieted a little when his velvet voice rolled over my skin but something in the bottom of stomach still wasn't sitting right. I watched as Edward moved further into the room and pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket.

"Once upon a time there lived an unhappy maiden. Her mother had died and she was left with her evil stepfather. Her stepfather did not appreciate her one tiny bit. The young maiden had nothing that she could call her own and she lived a life without the love of family. She endured more pain and sorrow than any one person should endure in a lifetime. Despite all of this, however, the young maiden had the most beautiful and kind soul. She loved everything and was loyal to everyone no matter what. "

"One day, the young maiden ran away from her evil and abusive stepfather in search of her real family. Her journey was long and filled with bumps along the way but eventually she found her father and brother." Edward paused for a moment and stepped to the side to reveal my father and my brother standing behind him. I had already began to cry but when I saw the sight of my healing father and my courageous brother I felt more tears begin to stream down my face.

" The young maiden's hardships were not over yet however because her evil stepfather decided to try and ruin everything she had built for herself but thankfully she had the help of her father and her brother as well as many other people who had become like family to her." As he finished that statement I stared behind my father and brother to where the rest of my surrogate family appeared. Carlisle and Esme wrapped in tearful embraces along with Alice and Jasper and Rose and there cradled in Esme's capable arms was Ethan.

"Even though the young maiden's stepfather had taken away everything from her he also gave her three wonderful gifts: love, family, and a beautiful baby boy who will love her unconditionally forever." I wanted so much to just run and embrace my family but something was holding me in place. There was something telling me that the events of tonight were not ending with the appearance of my family members. "Now it's her turn at happiness and it's her turn to have that happily ever after." Edward moved closer and got down on one knee in front of me.

"Isabella Marie Swan, nobody can call my name smoother than you do, nobody can laugh at my flaws as if it's a natural part of me, nobody sees me as me, as much as you do. Nobody ever counts the many dreams I had and no one ever understands the pain in my smiles but yet you do, you've always been able to. And nobody can replace you in my world, realizing that now; I'm asking you, to be with me all throughout your life. I'll see to your pain, sadness and joy too like you do to mine. I'll strive to bring you your happiness like you've given me all this while, so won't you be with me all throughout you life? Will you marry me?" I stared at Edward in shock as he opened the black velvet box to reveal the beautiful diamond ring. I saw the panic strike across his face as he waited with baited breath for my response.

"YES! Of course I'll marry you!" I pulled him up and crushed my lips to his in one of the sweetest kisses we had ever shared. Applause erupted from my family who stared on as Edward proposed. I was going to be marrying Edward. He was going to be mine forever and for always. My head was swimming with all of the excitement and energy that now filled the room. Edward had proposed! Never in a million years did I think I would be marrying the most amazing man on earth but here I was standing here engaged to Edward. Could life get any sweeter?

"Congratulations sweetheart." My father greeted as he embraced me in a tight hug. "I am beyond happy that you found Edward."

"Thanks dad." I was suddenly picked up from behind and squeezed tight by none other than my goofball of a brother.

"Congrats squirt! My baby sister is getting married!"

"Bella! You're going to let me help you plan your wedding right!?" Alice squealed from behind.

"Umm…Alice…can you wait like a day before you start planning a huge shindig?"

"It's a wedding Bella! These things take time!"

"Just let me get over the shock of everything first." I stared down at the ring that now adorned my left ring finger and felt the tears begin to pour down even more.

"Congratulations Bella." Rose greeted from the arms of my brother.

"Welcome to the family…officially." Carlisle and Esme smiled at me. I looked at my sleeping son in Esme's arms and smiled to myself.

"We'll leave you and Edward alone for a while. I'm sure you'll want to celebrate together." Carlisle spoke. Before he could hustle everyone together one of the park attendants walked in with a camera and took a few family pictures for keepsakes.

"Will we see you guys again?"

"Of course silly Bella, we're in the same hotel as you." Alice chided. I watched as my family filed out of the room leaving just Edward and me.

"Are we really getting married?" I asked him still in shock.

"Only if that is what you want. I want nothing more than to make you happy whatever your wishes may be."

"We're getting married!" I tilted my head up to place a sweet kiss on his mouth. "Thank you Edward…for making me the happiest woman on Earth."

"Come on love, the night is young and there is still more in store here in the Magic Kingdom for you." Edward tugged me along and down the stairs to an area where a candlelight dinner had been arranged. As we sat down and began to dig into the delicious food a fireworks show began and we sat back together and watched as the colorful lights littered the sky. I couldn't have asked for anything more. It was the perfect finish to the most perfect day of my life.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, so here's the long awaited proposal chapter. I hope it lived up to everyone's expectations. There's still a little more in store for the story but I don't think any other drama will be affecting Bella and Edward here. Again, sorry if these past two chapters sound funny or anything I'm really hyped up on a lot of medicine to help combat this flu so it doesn't affect the ever dreadful finals week...ugh I know right?**

**Anyway, enjoy and please review! I love you guys and thanks for sticking with me for this story. If you have any ideas for a new story let me know because writing is a great destressor and I love to do it even if I'm not the best at it. Thanks again and please do and enjoy and let me know what you think.**

**~Jess**


	28. Chapter 28

**You asked for it so here it is. :)**

_**Chapter 28**_

After the two of us had decided to retire back to our room, I figured it was about time to give Edward his Christmas present. He had given me everything tonight that now I was feeling like my gift was going to be very insignificant. It had taken me a while to decide what I was going to get or rather give to Edward for Christmas but after a long conversation with my soon to be sister-in-law and my brother's girlfriend I quickly figured out what I could give him.

Alice was at first hesistant to suggest the idea simply because it was her brother we were dealing with and no sister would want to know the details of their brother's intimate relations but she finally sucked it up and came out with it. At first I scoffed at the idea because that was so unlike me and I didn't want Edward to think I was some cheap trashy whore. In addition, I didn't exactly know how comfortable I would be since the last time anything like this had happened…it wasn't exactly of my own accord.

_Flashback_

"_So what are you thinking about giving my brother for Christmas?" Alice said as she plopped down beside me on the cushy sofa with a huge bowl of popcorn in her hands. The boys had all gone out for a "boys day out" whatever that may be and that had left Alice, Rose and me here in the house alone for a few hours, at least until Esme came back. _

"_I really don't know. I feel like no gift I give him is going to be an adequate token of just how much I love and appreciate him. I still haven't found the right gift and Christmas is just right around the corner." I popped some of the kernals in my mouth and took a quick glance towards the baby camera monitor that Carlisle and Esme had insisted they install. I smiled briefly when I saw a peacefully sleeping Ethan in his crib. _

"_I know what you can give him..." Alice trailed off and acted as if she wasn't going to continue with what she was saying. _

"_What do you have in mind?" I saw the little pixie for once get a bit ancy as she began to move around rather uncomfortably. _

"_Oh what the heck…give him some lovin' Bella! He is after all only a twenty year old and I feel like this bout of celibacy we've seen from him is totally and completely abnormal for a man of his age!" _

"_Alice!" I scolded. I had never pegged her for one to think along such lines before. "Don't you think that is a bit inappropriate?"_

"_Oh come on Bella…we don't live in the 1800s anymore. Sex is a part of life. Sex is the only way the humans can reproduce minus all of the science ways of doing it. Sex is healthy and there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not such a bad idea and it would be a fantastic Christmas present. Plus it would give us an excuse to go shopping since I'm sure you don't own anything other than ratty old t-shirts and pajama pans to sleep in." _

"_Alice…that just seems so trashy." I responded. The idea really did seem trashy. I mean who gives their boyfriend sex as a Christmas present. I think Edward may leave me then if I decided to do that. _

"_Bella, Edward is not going to leave you if you decide to give him sex. In fact it will only serve to solidify your relationship even more." It was as if she read my mind as I listened to her rant about me being a prude. Rose took this opportunity to make her opinion known._

"_You mean…you haven't done…really?" She seemed utterly shocked by this fact as I shook my head. _

"_I know that it's been almost a year and everything but we haven't done anything more than holding hands and cuddling every once in a while occasionally kissing." _

"_Wait…you haven't slept with him and you share a bed together? He must be one hell of a patient man if that's the case. I feel like if it were any other man in there they would have FLIPPED out by now." Rose said describing a typical male._

"_Edward is not your typical male. He is kind and loving and gentle and considerate and…"_

"_Cut the sappiness Bella, it's going to make me sick. I'm just saying that Alice is right; the perfect gift would be to show him some lovin'. You don't have to go all the way just do what you are comfortable with." _

"_I wouldn't know where to start with all of that." _

"_Oh don't worry," they both chided, "we'll give you all the help that you need." I felt my stomach suddenly begin to flutter with butterflies as I looked on at their dark and smug looks. _

_End Flashback_

Thanks to Alice and Rose I was now staring at the somewhat modest yet mostly skimpy piece of lingerie they had deemed "appropriate" for this occasion. I picked up the powder blue nighty and made my way into the adjoining bathroom to change. Edward was out in the living room locking up for the night and ensuring that everything was safe. I took the minuscule piece of fabric and slipped it on over the lacy bra and underwear set that Alice had also thrown in. I pressed my ear to the door and listened as Edward entered the bedroom and and sat down on the bed. After a few deep calming breaths and a small pep talk to myself I opened the door and revealed my scantily clad self to a unexpectant Edward.

"Merry Christmas." I greeted as I stood shyly in the doorway.

"Bella…" He gasped out no doubt catching on quickly.

"I figured…that…we could, well…you know." I was embarrassed to say the word around Edward as I slowly began to walk towards him and sit on his lap. This was more physical contact than we had had in a year. I was taking it slow in hopes that I didn't have a major meltdown.

"Bella…we don't have to do this you know. I'm perfectly fine waiting until you are more comfortable."

"I want too." I said with more conviction than I knew I had. Edward looked up at me surprised. Before I could utter another word, Edward's lips came crashing down onto mine. He plundered my mouth with a new intensity that I did not know resided in him. I felt his lips begin to brush tender butterfly kisses along my jawline as they moved slowly down to my neck where he immediately found the sensitive pulse point.

"You can tell me to stop whenever. I don't care, if you feel one bit uncomfortable with anything just say stop." He whispered as he began suckling on my overly sensitive pulse point. My mind had begun swirling too much for me to think of a word to respond with so I relied instead of nodding my head in acknowledgement. Edward gently scooped me up off of his lap and carefully laid me out on the bed hovering over me but placing none of his wait on my fragile body.

"Have you done this before?" I asked him shyly.

"A few times, yes. I'm not proud of the fact that I've been so careless but I can't change the past." He leaned down and placed a delicate kiss on my lips. I felt a small moan work it's way up through my vocal cords as he trailed his lips down my neck and over my coller bone. There was a sudden heat rushing between my legs and I let out a pleasurable shiver. "Are you alright, love?"

"Yes, just please don't stop." I heard him chuckle quietly as he scooted down a tiny bit still not placing an ounce of his weight upon me. I watched him as he placed a kiss down just above the valley between my breasts. His head suddenly turned its attention back to my face as his eyes searched mine for approval.

"Are you sure this is okay Bella? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or like you have to do this. Please don't do anything that you are going to regret." I could only nod my response and watch, as Edwards head slowly and torturously made it's way lower. I let out a gasp as Edward's hand came up and began to rub my tender peak. His hand left my breast and moved up towards the strap that was holding the negligee up. He moved his other hand in the same fashion and began pushing the straps of it down revealing my bra-clad chest. "You are just so stunningly beautiful Bella. You have no idea." His head leaned down again and licked the tops of my breasts. A certain boldness I never knew existed within me suddenly took hold as I slowly began to reach down to Edward's manhood.

"Bella…" He groaned as soon as my hand began to rub against him creating a pleasurable friction no doubt. His ministrations paused as I watched him fight to regain a tad bit of his composure. I felt another bold streak hit me, and my hand began to slide up towards the button of his jeans deftly unfastening it and sliding the zipper down.

"Off with the pants." I commanded. I had no idea where this boldness was coming from. It's like the sudden rush in hormones was suddenly bringing out the 'naughtier' side in me. I watched Edward's face turn to one of amusement as he quickly shed himself of the offensive jeans. He came back to straddle me and reached around to unfasten the clasp of my bra revealing the hardening mounds. I watched in fascination as his head came down and he began to suckle my nipples like a newborn baby. My head threw back and I let out a cry as a new wave of heat made it's way to my core. I felt the lining in my panties begin to soak. After I had calmed down a bit I reached my hand down into Edward's boxers and grasped the long smooth length of him. He let out a guttural moan as my hand came in contact with him for the first time.

"Am I doing this right?" I asked timidly as my hand began to stroke him up and down.

"Perfect." He moaned out as he leaned down to give my breasts attention again. After a minute or so Edward told me to stop of he'd lose it right there. I quickly followed what he said and stopped my own ministrations on him. "This is about you tonight. I want to show you just how much I love you." He pulled the rest of the negligee down leaving me in just my underwear. "Is it all right if I take them off?" He asked. I almost cried at how caring and considerate he was being right now but for fear of ruining the moment I held back.

"Yes." He slowly slid down the last of my clothing leaving me in nothing but my birthday suit.

"Exquisite Bella, truly exquisite." I felt my cheeks redden as he stared at my naked form. My insecurities overwhelmed me and I suddenly began to feel self conscious under his stare. He immediately noticed my hesitance. "Bella don't let your mind convince you of anything other than the truth right now. You are beautiful and I cannot thank you enough for the gift you are so willing to bestow on me."

"Your welcome." That was the only reply I could manage to croak out in response to Edward's beautiful words. He quickly shed the rest of his clothing as well before showering my body in love and attention. He slid his hand down to my thigh and slowly began to creep his way up. I could feel the fire burning stronger as his hand came closer and closer to my throbbing core. "Please…" I begged him as I felt his fingers right at my entrance but never touching. He gave into my request slipping one finger into me as another began to push on my button. I had never felt anything like this in my entire life. It was like stars were flashing in front of me as I felt Edward's finger begin to move slowly inside of me. His other finger began tracing circles on my clit and I let out an uncontainable moan.

It wasn't long before I felt myself speeding towards the edge and into an experience I had never experienced before. Wave up wave of pleasure crashed over my body as Edward continued his loving ministrations. I felt myself fall over the edge as I cried out his name loudly. After he gave me a few minutes to collect my bearings he straddled my waist again.

"Are you sure about this love?" I nodded my head, my mind completely gone and my ability to form words along with it. "It may hurt a little but I'll do my best not to harm you. Do you trust me?" I nodded again. He crushed his lips down to mine in a searing kiss as I felt his hardened length begin to inch ever so slowly inside of me. I could feel the muscles lining my walls begin to stretch and I felt uncomfortable for a few seconds but it was quickly replaced with the feeling of wholeness. As Edward pushed the last of himself inside of me I realized that I felt completely and entirely complete. It was like two pieces of the puzzle fitting together perfectly.

"Are you okay?" He whispered as he leaned his head into the crook of my neck and nibbled on my ear. He remained completely still not moving a muscle as he allowed me to adjust. I could see the restraint it was taking him on his face.

"You can move. Please move. I need you to move." Edward complied willingly as he set a slow and meaningful pace of thrusts into me. We both moaned out each other's names and could feel our climaxes building. I could feel myself fast approaching the edge I had only just crossed not but fifteen or so minutes ago.

"Come with me love, let go." He whispered as he leaned down and captured my moan with a fiery kiss. We both went sailing off the edge as we climaxed together.

Edward collapsed next to me panting for breath as he wrapped his arms around me. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead and pulled me closer to his warm and glistening body.

"That was so amazing love. You have no idea."

"Thank you Edward, thank you for showing me what it feels like to be loved. I only wish I could have done the same for you."

"You did Bella, you gave me everything and so much more. I couldn't have asked for more." He kissed me again and pulled me onto his chest. "Sleep now Bella. You must be exhausted after the long day." I could only nod my head in response. Edward began to hum to beautiful lullaby he had composed for me so long ago and I felt myself fall into a blissful oblivion.

* * *

**A/N: Well, you all asked for a lemon so I figured I would give you what you wanted. I do have to warn you however, that this is completely unchartered territory for me. I have never really written this kind of a lemon before. The only time I've written something remotely close to this was when I wrote the first chapter of this story so excuse me if it's not exactly up to standard. **

**Also, I wanted to get an opinion of you readers for anyone who would like to see a sequel. I hate to say it but my time with this particular story is coming to a close soon and if you all want I would not be opposed to writing a continuation. I do have some ideas for our favorite characters but I don't want this particular one to seem as if it's going and going and going and never going to end. So all of you who think that a sequel would be awesome, just let me know. **

**Thank to everyone who has kept up with this story. I have received so many messages from some of you and so many REVEIWS. All of you are awesome and you truly do make my day. Just as a note, my updates may be a little lagging this week because of finals but I'll be off of school for a month and I'm sure I will have plenty of time to work on updates. Please enjoy this new chapter and as always please let me know what you think! I love reading all of your comments and try to reply to them whenever I can! I love all of you! Enjoy and review pretty please! **

**~Jess  
**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Edward had planned a myriad of surprise for the rest of our stay in Disney World. An equal amount of those surprises involved our hotel room and those were definitely my favorites. Ever since I had chosen to give myself over to Edward, I had been in total bliss. He was always so kind, so gentle, never pushing me further than I wanted.

On New Year's Eve, the entire family gathered together in a private room and rang in the New Year in style. I had never experienced such an exciting holiday season in my entire life and if this was the way my life was going to go, I would take it. Before long, however, it was time for us to make our way back home to Forks. I was sad to bid the beauty and magic of Disney World farewell but I also missed the comforting feeling that Forks provided me. Also, as much as I detested the rainy, foggy weather that Forks experienced every day, my pale white skin just could not handle the heat.

As soon as we landed at home, Alice, Esme, and Rosalie immediately dived into wedding plans. I had never known that so many bridal magazines existed. Alice and Rosalie had promised me that this wedding would be nothing extravagant and that it would match Edward's personality and mine, perfectly. Within a week of our return home from Disney World, the three musketeers had already set a theme and color scheme and narrowed down the places to a list of about half a page. I was beyond amazed at their work because if I had been the one planning, well let's just say this wedding would probably never happen. Their enthusiasm is the reason we are currently driving to Seattle towards the bridal shop.

"So Bella, do you have any sort of idea for a dress in mind?" Alice asked me turning around in her seat to face me. I noticed Esme give me a curious glance in the rear view mirror as I pondered what I saw myself wearing. I honestly had never really thought about getting married and other than knowing that I wanted a white dress I had nothing.

"I don't even know! I haven't ever pictured myself getting married before."

"What do you mean never getting married? That's crazy Bella!" Rosalie piped in from her seat next to me.

"Well, it just honestly never seemed like a possibility especially the way my life was going at the time." A tense silence fell over us girls in the car for a few seconds as we all relived a brief second of the horror that was my life.

"Bella, marriage was so meant for you." Alice broke the tenseness before flashing her perfect smiled. We sat in the car, with only the sounds of quiet singing, for the remainder of the trip. After another 30 or so minutes Esme parked the car in front of an elaborate looking bridal boutique. I hoped and prayed that Esme knew I had a budget and wasn't able to afford elaborate things like the rest of them were.

"Let's go dear…we're right on time for our appointment." Esme linked her arm with mine and guided me into the dress shop where two fake blonde overly made up women immediately pounced on us.

"Welcome to La Belle Elaine's. I'm Shannon and this is my partner Melissa. Do you have an appointment?" The younger looking of the two spoke up.

"Yes under Cullen please." The two girls sucked in a breath when they heard the last name.

"Oh Mrs. Cullen, how could I not have recognized you. I do apologize! Please, come with me…right this way." The two ladies brought us back to a lavish looking suite that already had a few choices in dresses hanging on the wall. "Now who is the lucky bride to be we will be dressing this afternoon?"

"This is Bella. She's marrying my son, Edward." Esme pulled me closer to her and I cringed under the sudden intense scrutiny I was receiving from the ladies in front of us.

"Really, little old Edward settling down? Well, that's fantastic!" I could hear the sarcasm and venom in their voice but chose to ignore their blatant distaste of me. "Now what kind of dress were you looking for?" I stared at them baffled for a second before Alice thankfully came to my rescue.

"Well…I was thinking satin in either a white or cream color with maybe a little beading with a princess ball gown feel and sweetheart neckline. Or maybe a line? Can we see a little bit of both?" Alice was already looking at the five or so dresses that were hanging on the wall. "Something a little like this one but with the embroidering of this one."

"I think we have a few things in the back that would work well with what you're looking for. If you'll excuse us for just a moment."

"Thanks Alice. If I were here without you guys, I would not know where to start."

"Bella, I want you to try on this one so I can get a feel of what everything actually looks like." Alice pulled an elaborate looking dress down and began unfastening the array of buttons and hooks. "Well, come on…we haven't got ALL day." I caught on to what she wanted me to do and hesistantly began taking off my clothes leaving me only in my underwear. Alice helped me into the dress and fastened everything back up. The dress was almost twice as big as me so I was practically drowning in it but my problem was quickly solved when she used two giant clips to bunch the material together in the back. "Well, take a look!" Alice turned me on the pedestal towards the mirror where I got the first glimpse of myself.

"Whoa…" I was absolutely speechless. Up until this point the idea of getting married to Edward just seemed like a fairy tale but now that I was standing here actually looking at dresses it all became so much more…real.

"Well Bella…how do you like it?" I heard Rosalie ask from behind. She has this mildly glazed over look in her eyes and a small smile playing on her lips. I bit my lip as I scrutinized the reflection I saw in the mirror. The dress was no doubt beautiful but I didn't think that it was the perfect one for me.

"It's gorgeous but it's not the one for me I don't think." I turned to face the three women standing behind me and took in the opinions that were written on their faces.

"I agree…the dress is absolutely beautiful but it's just not you." Esme said. She began to take the next one off the rack and helped me into the dress. It went on like that for a while. I think in total I tried on 20 beautiful dresses but none of them seemed to be the one.

"Alice, I don't think we're going to find one here today. Can we please just give it a rest?" I was beginning to get irritated with the amount of time this was taking and I was also anxious to get home to my son and my fiancée.

"Can you just try on one more? I mean if you say no you run the risk of foregoing THE perfect dress." She was taunting me with the idea that the next one I put on would indeed be the dress I would wear to get married in. I couldn't resist to that idea because I wanted nothing more than to find the perfect dress.

"Alright but only one more." I sighed in frustration and watched as she and Esme both had to undo the clasps and help me into the dress.

"Oh Bella…" Rosalie gasped as Esme placed a small tiara on top of my head. "You need to turn around and look right now." Esme and Alice both took a step back from the pedestal and allowed me to turn around and take a glimpse of my reflection. What I saw staring back at me absolutely took my breath away. The dress accentuated every curve and the ivory color didn't wash me out like I was afraid of. The dress was simple; it was a simple a-line that fluffed out beginning at my hips and there was a bit of crystal beading.

"I think this is the one." I breathed out as I smoothed my hands over the soft fabric.

"You bet your ass it is Bella! This dress is absolutely perfect, breathtaking, stunning!" Alice chimed in her shrill voice.

"Bella…you look…drop dead gorgeous…freaking hot! Edward will not be able to keep his hands off of you." Rosalie said.

"How much is this dress? I bet it's going to be way out of my budget."

"Nonsense Bella…this wedding will be completely paid for by Carlisle and myself. It's the least we can do for the woman who has stolen my sons heart and given me a grandchild." I smiled down at Esme with tears streaming down my face.

"Esme… I couldn't…that's so much!"

"You are part of the family now Bella. What's mine is yours."

"Thank you so much!" I immediately threw my arms around her fragile frame and hugged her tight.

"We better get home before Edward begins to wonder what we've done with you."

"I wonder how he's doing with Ethan alone by himself."

"He's a lot better with children especially babies then he lets on. It wouldn't surprise me if he went into pediatrics once he starts his residency. "

"He really is fabulous with children."

"How are we going to be paying for the dress today Mrs. Cullen?"

"Just put it on my card please thank you."

"We'll tailor the dress so that it fits you perfectly. You're going to need to come in a few times for fittings so that we can ensure that everything is perfect." Melissa handed me a packet of papers with appointments and a form for any changes I wanted to make to the dress.

"Thank you for your time ladies." Esme said as we began to walk out of the shop. I couldn't believe that I had just bought my wedding dress. This whole day has just felt like a dream. I was getting married! I was marrying the most perfect man on the planet and he loved me despite all of the baggage and all of the flaws that come with me.

* * *

**A/N: ****I am deeply apologetic for the lack of updates in the past month or so but well, there's a long list of reasons why. First, I was planning on updating after my road trip home from Oklahoma to Washington D.C but...lo and behold the weekend that my friends and I decide to drive home is the weekend that we get the biggest blizzard of the decade. So, my friends and I ended up stranded in some small town in Tennessee for a couple of days. It was a disaster. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. We stopped in Nashville the night before to catch a few hours of a sleep and then my parents called me telling me about this major storm and how if we left by 8 that morning we could beat it. However, the 2nd car we had decided to get a flat tire and blow out so we had to wait and get it changed which put us WAY behind schedule. Then we made it about 20 miles to the most southern border of Virginia before hitting stand still traffic on the interstate. Literally within maybe an hour of the snow starting there was already like 3-4" on the ground. It was an adventure...that I most certainly do not want to relive for a while. **

**Secondly, with our little pitstop in Tennessee, I had only four days until Christmas and I still hadn't finished Christmas shopping for my family. So, that put off the update again. Then it's my sister's birthday right after and we were away for a few days to celebrate. Then there was my dad's back surgery two days after that and then New Years and now that brings me to here. Let's just say that this has been one HECK of a break and I am almost excited to see it go. I'll be journeying back to Oklahoma where just as our luck would have it they're calling for snow the day we are planning on leaving. Hopefully, there won't be as much of an adventure going back. **

**Anyway, I will try as HARD as I possibly can to get a few chapter updates on here. I apologize profusely for the lack of updating on my part and I realize that you guys must really hate me right now! Again, I have a few days where I can sit down and write so hopefully I'll get at least three or four before I need to pack up and head back. I'm sorry again and I hope you all will forgive me. **

**I hope that you all had a fantastic holiday (whatever that holiday may be for you) and that 2010 brings joy, happiness, and good health to all of you. **

**~Jess**


	30. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30 (Alice's Point of View)**_

Close to eight months of planning was all leading up to this very day. Bella and Edward's wedding was not a difficult one to plan but it certainly wasn't easy. Between Bella's taste for the simplistic things and Edward's natural tendency to go for the more lavish and expensive things it was hard finding a mix that would suit both of them but I am proud to say that I was able to accomplish what seemed like the impossible.

Bella was upstairs with Rosalie and my mother soaking in the tub in an attempt to calm the vicious nerves she seemed to be experiencing. What that girl was nervous for I had no idea. She was marrying my brother for pete's sake. Edward, who most girls consider the most perfect, romantic loving, and much to my dismay hottest man ever…never mind I can see where she would be nervous. If I were in Bella's shoes I would probably be in much more of a distressed state then she is now.

"I really hope this is the florist Jasper…if this isn't the florist I'm going to punch the closest thing to me." I chuckled to myself as I saw Jasper take a tiny step away from me with a look of pure fear in his eyes. I swung open the door and stared at the two people who were about to collapse under the boxes of flowers. "Oh thank GOD you are here! I was beginning to think you would never show up!" I escorted them into the back yard where the other preparations were being made and let them get to work.

This wedding was going to be damn beautiful and I was proud of it.

"Jasper, is Edward even awake yet? I know that my brother thinks he needs his beauty sleep and everything but it's coming up on ten o'clock here."

"Alice, my darling, Edward doesn't need the whole day to get ready like you ladies do. All he's gotta do is take a 5 minute shower and put on the tux and that's it. He can sleep all day if he wants." He wrapped his lengthy arms around my narrow middle section and placed a light kiss on my neck. "You just need to breathe." I melted under Jasper's nimble fingers as he massaged away some of the tension in my shoulders.

"I can't relax yet, not until the vows have been said and Edward and Bella are off on their honeymoon."

"Why don't you go upstairs with the girls and do whatever it is that you girls do to get ready. I'll take care of anything that happens down here." Jasper escorted me over to the stairs and with a swat on my ass sent me climbing.

"If there are any questions come get me as fast as you possibly can. Today needs to be perfect." Jasper nodded and shooed me away. I climbed the lengthy staircase and walked over to Bella's door where I heard my mom and Rosalie arguing away with Bella.

"What if he backs out at the last minute? What if he finally realizies that I'm not what he wants in life and that he is settling down too early? He's going to leave me at the altar!" I heard Bella crying from outside the door and immediately felt myself barge into the room startling the three women.

"Isabella Swan! That is complete and total nonsense and you know it! Edward loves you so very much and never in a million years will he leave you standing at the altar. He loves you and your baby more than life itself. You have nothing to fear my dear."

"I can't do this." Bella replied as she angrily swiped at a few tears that had escaped.

"Oh yes you can and you most definitely will. If you walk out today you'll be making the biggest mistake of my life. I can't allow you to hurt my brother like that."

"You're right. You are so right. Let's do this." Bella smiled at us all and embraced all of us in a tearful hug. "I'm getting married!" Girly giggles filled the room as we finally fixed the problem of Bella's insecurities.

"Now, let's make you the most beautiful bride this world has ever seen." I led Bella over to the chair and sat her down as Rosalie set to work fixing her hair and I started on her makeup. Esme left the two of us to work our magic and went downstairs to check on the preparations for me.

All too soon we were slipping Bella's wedding gown over her head and putting the finishing touches on her. I left Bella and Rosalie upstairs and went down to check on how everything was going downstairs. The decoraters had done a fantastic job with everything. The staircase was lined in blue and white fabric and there were candles lit all over the kitchen and dining room area. The engagement pictures I had Bella and Edward take a few weeks ago were framed and elegantly displayed for the guests to see. I made my way through the kitchen and out to the back where there were rows of chairs embellished with white and blue bows. The white carpet that trailed down the center led to the focal point where there was an arch that was beautifully decorated and surrounded by candles. I was throuroughly impressed with the decorating job and couldn't have done it better myself.

I pulled myself away from the beautiful sight before me and checked on the food and the cake before making my way upstairs towards Edward's room.

"Boys, it's time." I said with a beaming smile on my face. My brother was about to marry his soul mate, the one woman he loved more than anyone else.

"We're really doing this. It's not a dream right. Someone pinch me." Edward screamed like a little girl when Emmett reached over and pinched him rather harshly on the arm. "What the hell was that?"

"Dude, you said pinch me so I was just fulfilling your request."

"I didn't mean so hard!"

"Boys! Now is not the time for your immature antics. We have a wedding to start now march your little asses downstairs and get into place so I can get the girls." My dad, brother, boyfriend and friend all filed passed me and down the stairs towards the back door.

"Bella? Rosalie? Are you ready? It's time!" I opened the door and took in the full sight of Bella. She looked absolutely radiant as she stood there in the gorgeous wedding dress we had found for her. I could only hope that I would just as radiant on my wedding day. Esme came in behind me followed by Carlisle and Charlie.

"Bella!" Charlie gasped as he took in the sight of his daughter. I even swore that I saw tears in his eyes. "You look amazing." Charlie walked over to her and embraced her in a tight hug. "I have something for you. Your mother would have wanted you to have it." Bella delicately opened the box to reveal a diamond heart necklace.

"Dad, this is beautiful! Where did you get this?"

"Actually I bought it for your mom the day that you were born. She never took it off while we were together." He picked up the necklace and secured it around Bella's neck. It was the perfect piece of jewelry to complete Bella. "I figured you would want a piece of your mother with you on a day like today."

"Okay people I hate to break up this moment but we have a wedding to attend and one very nervous groom standing outside." Jasper interrupted the tender moment between father and daughter.

"Let's get this show on the road people!" I screamed out and began shooing people out of the room.

"Can Carlisle and I have just a moment with the bride? I promise that we won't take very long." I huffed slightly at my mom and dad but quickly gave in to the death glare my mom shot me. I exited from the room and shut the door behind me ushering everyone else into place. Now all we had to do was wait for the bride to be completely ready.

* * *

**A/N: Okay guys, we're coming to the last couple of chapters here. I'm actually hoping to get the last few chapters up and posted by tonight or tomorrow so if everything goes well we could finally be seeing the end of Will I Ever Love Again. Also, I already have a new story in mind and I'll try to get a chapter or two of that posted. **

**Again, I am sorry for the long delay in chapter posts but school has started up again and there were a lot of things that I needed to take care of before I could actually sit down and write. I hope you aren't too made at me! Please don't forget to review and let me know what you think of this chapter. We're almost there so stick with me for just a little bit longer! I love you all and thanks for all the support and reviews you've given me so far! So please, enjoy this chapter update and don't forget to tell me what you think! **

**~Jess  
**


	31. Chapter 31

_**Chapter 31**_

"Bella, Carlisle and I just wanted to let you know that we could not be more proud to call you a daughter. You have brought out the best in our son and that is all we could have asked for in the one he chooses to love. Welcome to the family Bella and we're always here for you for anything."

"Esme couldn't have said it better Bella. You've always been a part of this family but now you are even more so than before. Esme and I also have a little gift for you and Edward. He already knows about it and was a part of the process so I have no doubt that you and little Ethan will love it." Carlisle handed me a card that was extraordinarily heavy for a wedding card. I carefully opened the envelope to find a set of keys tucked inside a piece of paper. I opened it up and nearly passed out right there. Carlisle and Esme had bought us a freaking house. I was currently holding the deed to a house that Carlisle and Esme had purchased for Edward and myself and our baby.

"This is way too much! You've already payed for this whole wedding and taken me and my father in. I…I don't even know what to say."

"Well, the only thing we ask for in return is more grandchildren but I don't think Edward and yourself will have a lot of difficulties with that." Esme winked at me and I felt a large blush overwhelm my cheeks.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Now, let's get you married before Alice has a coronary!" Esme joked and hugged me smoothing out any fly hairs on my head. Carlisle hugged me as well before they made their way out the door to where my father and Alice were standing.

"Are we all set? We've got your something blue, your something old and your something new but you don't have anything borrowed…" Alice trailed off before an idea clicked in her head. "This is my favorite bracelet so I want it back but I think an occasion like today would be a great day to share." She secured the small silver charm bracelet around my wrist and gave me a sign of satisfaction.

"I didn't think I would ever be giving you away. I always thought you would be my little girl." Charlie came up next to me and offered me his arm as he escorted me down the stairs and into the kitchen where we would wait until our cue.

"I never thought I'd be standing here either dad. It looks like everything worked out in the end though." Charlie placed a light kiss on my forehead like he would do when I was a kid.

"You look beautiful kid. I'm so glad that you came back to me." Just then the music sounded for us to begin our walk down the aisle. When I walked out the French doors and out into the backyard I felt my breath leave me. The sight was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was setting in the distance and the candles gave off a surreal glow. My family and the friends I had made here in Forks were gathered in the rows of chairs and there in the center of everything stood the love of my life. Edward looked absolutely breathtaking as he stood there, his face illuminated by the glowing candlelight. I watched as he nervously fidgeted with his tux while the biggest smile graced his beautiful face. I was really getting married to this man.

**Edward's Point of View**

What on earth was taking that woman so long? I don't know if my body could take anymore of the anticipation and adrenaline I was experiencing. I was standing out here in front of the elaborately decorated arch where Bella and I would become man and wife. Wife. Bella was about to become my wife. She would be my love forever and for all eternity. Was there a better way to spend my life than in the arms of the woman that I love? I honestly could not think of another way to spend my life.

I just wished that she would hurry up because I was getting impatient. I wanted nothing more right than for Bella and I to say our vows so that we could officially be Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen. Bella Cullen. It had a perfect ring to it, almost like it was meant to be. I couldn't wait.

"Dude Edward, can you take your kid? He's drooling all over me and he reeks." Emmett was holding Ethan at arms length from himself and had this overly disgusted look on his face. Ethan looked like he was about to start screaming for dear life because of the way his uncle was treating him.

"You're going to scare the poor kid Emmett. You're going to make one crappy ass father if you act like this whenever the kid has a smelly diaper." I took my son from his grasp and carried him inside the house quickly changing the dirty diaper and making sure he was all set to go. Alice had found him a baby tuxedo that he could wear and thankfully it was more like a pair of black sweat pants and a black jacket so when Ethan managed to mess it up it could easily be thrown into the wash.

"Ethan…you are growing up way too fast young man. Your first birthday is right around the corner!" I blew a raspberry on his exposed belly and reveled in the sounds of his baby giggles as they filled the room.

"Edward! We're about to start! Give me Ethan and go stand outside!" Alice all but pushed me out the back door and into my position in front of the arch. I felt the nerves hit me again as I watched Alice hand Ethan over to Jasper to hold and Emmett took his place next to me. It wasn't long before I heard the string quartet in the corner begin playing the music before my sister came marching down the isle looking like a portrait of beauty. Rosalie followed after in her own radiant way and took her place next to Alice. A smiling Jasper and a giggling Ethan who had a pillow with our rings on it followed her.

Finally the moment had come when Bella would make her way down the aisle. I sucked in a deep breath and watched as the most beautiful angel made her way from inside the house and into the backyard. I had to remind myself that my lungs couldn't go forever without air before I started breathing normally again. The dress she was wearing was hugging every curve and made her look like a Greek goddess as she walked down the aisle towards me. It was as if time had stopped and the only two people in the world that mattered were she and myself. I almost started crying right then and there.

"You look gorgeous love." I whispered to her when she had finally met me at the front. Charlie handed her to me with tears in his own eyes. He was giving away his daughter to me. Her life was in my hands now.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of this man and this woman today in holy matrimony." The priest began. I didn't really listen to a word he said and only replied when I knew it was something I needed to say. I couldn't take my eyes off of the beautiful bride in front of me. "Edward and Isabella have chosen to write their own vows to each other so at this time they will present them. Edward if you will go first."

"My beloved Bella, do you remember the very first day we met? From the very moment I saw you, I knew you were the one for me, the one that I know I have to spend the rest of my life with. Our courtship was one of the best days of my life, for you have become not just my lover and companion, but also my best friend.

I want to be your lover, your companion and your best friend for the rest of my life. I promise to love and cherish you, to keep you close and with faithfulness, to be your prop and helpmate in times of need, to make you laugh and to hold you when you cry, to hold you to the highest respect and honor as you so deserve for the rest of my life.

Bella, you once told me that you are afraid of growing old. You told me then that to grow old means to be alone, and it frightens you. But I want you to grow old, Bella. I want you to grow old with me. I want to watch the wrinkles form on your face and every strand of your hair turn white, because to me you would be the most beautiful, even when you are all wrinkled and gray. You do not have to fear being alone, my beloved Bella, because I shall be with you. Grow old with me. I promise to love you faithfully, to care for you and to cherish you, to provide you with support and everything that you need, to respect and honor you. All my days left to me, I vow to spend them all loving you." I looked over to Bella who had tears streaming down her beautiful face and I allowed my instincts to take over as I gently swiped the pad of my thumb against her silky skin and wiped the tears away.

"Beautifully said Edward. And Bella," The preacher turned as did the entire audience to Bella intent upon what she would say.

"How the hell am I supposed to follow that?" She giggled to herself still trying to contain the tears. "Excuse my language, sir, when I get excited I tend to allow a few words to slip sometimes." She took a deep breath and turned to Alice who handed her a piece of paper. "Mine isn't quite as romantically thought out as yours but I hope that it still makes you feel the way yours did to me."

"Many people spend their lives searching for their soul mate, their one true love. Some people are lucky to find the person they can truly call the better half of themselves, while others spend the rest of their lives searching and never finding. I am happy to count myself among the lucky ones, because I certainly found you.

I love you, Edward. I know that you are the only one for me, my one true love. I am happy and I am grateful that you came into my life, that where others have spent their entire lives looking for the one, I have found you. And now that I have found you, I shall never let you go. I promise you, Edward, that I shall hold you and cherish you and give you my heart, that I shall support you and care for you. Faithfully, I shall always stand steadfast at your side with your hand in mine, regardless of what life would bring to us. I take you now as my husband, and I shall remain so for the rest of my life." There was not a dry eye in the audience as the two of us finished pledging our love to one another.

"If I could have the rings please." The minister who too had to wipe a few tears from his eyes said to Jasper who brought Ethan up and handed over the two rings to the preacher. He held his hand out to me and allowed me to take the tiny platinum wedding band that was garnished with diamonds and slide it onto Bella's ring finger along side the diamond engagement ring I gave her almost a year ago. Bella did the same with the matching platinum wedding band.

"I now have the honor of presenting for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen." Everyone stood from their chairs and clapped. Even little Ethan attempted to clap his little hands in Jasper's grasp. He was all smiles as he stared at both Bella and myself.

"We did it love, we're married!"

"You may now kiss the bride." I leaned down and crushed my lips to Bella's as I dipped her gently while cradling her in my arms.

"I love you Isabella Swan…Cullen." I smiled down at her and placed a gentle peck on her lips.

"I love you Edward Cullen." She beamed up at me as I straightened her out and guided her back into the house so the festivities could begin. Alice had the DJ start the music and she had cleared out most of the furniture from the family room to place tables and chairs and a dance floor in the middle. I was thankful for the enormously large house my parents had bought when we moved to Forks.

"If I could have the bride and groom on the dance floor…they'll share their first dance as husband and wife." I took Bella's hand and guided her to the dance floor where the DJ began playing our song. Bella and I had chosen _Amazed _by Lonestar because the lyrics seem to just speak to both of us. Bella, always the klutz, was holding onto me for dear life but never once did I let her fall or trip.

Pretty soon all of us were sitting ourselves down for a delicious meal that Alice had chosen months ago. The party went well into the evening and after the cake had been cut and the congratulations been said people began filing out of the house to head back to their own houses. It had been a wonderful evening filled with love and so many memories to last us a lifetime.

"Let's get you changed so that you guys can go ahead and head out and get the honeymoon started." Alice winked at Bella and proceeded to drag her up the stairs. I took that moment to look around for my son who I found to be asleep on his grandfather.

"Do you want me to take him upstairs?" I asked Charlie who looked quite content with Ethan just lying on his chest sound asleep.

"Oh I've got him, you go and get changed so you guys can get moving." I thanked him before heading upstairs myself and changing into the comfier clothes I had laid out earlier. Before long Bella and I were saying our goodbyes to the family to start our weeklong honeymoon in Bora Bora.

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**A/N: Okay guys I've got one more chapter up my sleeve as of right now and I'm going to try and get it up and posted by tonight or tomorrow, we'll just have to see what happens. **

**I hope that you enjoy the previous update and this update. By the way, if you haven't heard the song _Amazed _by Lonestar you most definitely need to because it is one of the best songs I've heard and I absolutely love it. Don't forget to let me know what you think and we're almost there! Thanks for reading! **

**~Jess**


	32. Chapter 32

_**Epilogue **_

"Come on baby, just one more push!" I squeezed her hand in mind and wiped the beads of sweat that were forming on her forehead. The sound of an angry cry filled the room as my baby screamed in frustration from being pulled from the warm surroundings of my wife's tummy.

"We did it!" She cried as the tears began to roll down her face.

"Congratulations Dr. and Mrs. Cullen you have a beautiful healthy baby girl." The doctor placed the still screaming and writhing child on my wife's abdomen and began to clean her off. I placed a gentle kiss on my wife's forehead as I too joined her in tears.

"I can't believe we have a daughter honey. I didn't think I was ever going to be a father." The doctor finished cleaning off my daughter and wrapped her up in a blanket for my wife to hold. "She's beautiful…just like you."

"She has your eyes babe." I looked down at the big green eyes that my daughter sported. She definitely inherited that from my side of the family. Everything else about my daughter was exactly like my wife's features however.

"What are we going to name her?"

"Emmalyn Grace Cullen" I said proudly. For as long as I could remember I have always wanted to name my child Emmalyn. I have no idea where the name came from; probably one of the stories that my mom used to read to me as a kid.

"I love it. Hello Emmalyn, I'm your Mommy." The doctors came in and collected our pink little bundle of joy to take her to the nursery for some tests and to clean her up completely. I scooted onto the bed next to my beautiful and glowing wife and cuddled her close to me.

"You know this will probably be the last time we get peace and quiet for a while now right?" I chuckled to myself at the revelation that our humble abode would no longer be shared between just the two of us.

"I think this is something I can adjust to." I kissed her and hugged her to me as she fell into an exhausted sleep. After I was sure that she had fallen asleep I lifted myself carefully off the bed and made my way down to the nursery where I saw them carefully wrapping my daughter in a soft baby pink blanket before placing her gently into the clear plastic bassinet. I savored the moment for a few minutes before I walked through the door and showed them my bracelet before collecting my beautiful daughter.

When I had rolled her bassinet all the way to the quiet and open foyer I had found on the maternity ward I stopped and picked up my baby girl from her place on the tiny mattress. It amazed me how quickly I fell in love with the tiny baby in my arms. She cooed softly into my arm and linked her tiny hand around my one finger. Her rosy cheeks were just like her mothers and her adorable little button nose definitely came from my side of the family.

I couldn't believe the fact that I was now a father. It felt like ages since my beautiful wife of three years told me that we were expecting a baby. I remember the day so clearly in my mind.

_Flashback_

_I came home from my shift at the hospital to what I thought was an empty house. When I walked up the stairs, however, it was clear that I was not alone. Andy was sitting on the bed with tears streaming down her face but the biggest smile gracing her full lips. The tears through me off and I immediately threw myself at her hoping to comfort her in any way I can. _

_I had been mistaken though, she was crying because she was happy. I remember glancing down and seeing in her hand the little white stick that clearly had two pink lines on it. She just nodded her head after I noticed what she was holding. _

"_We're going to be parents!" She exclaimed. _

"_I'm going to be a daddy…" I whispered to myself as I embraced her and held her close to my side. _

"_You need to call your parents. I know they're going to be thrilled." She wiped the tears that had fallen from my eyes and placed a delicate kiss on my lips. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the all too familiar number of my parents back in New York. I didn't even think about the time difference until my tired sounding father picked up the phone. _

"_Hello? Ethan? Is everything alright?" The frantic voice of my father came through the receiver. _

"_Everything is alright dad, Andy and I just have some fantastic news. Can you put the phone on speaker so Mom can listen in as well?" _

"_Sure, son, just give me a second." I heard the rustle of my father getting up from his seat and then a muffled "Bella" as he looked for my mother. _

"_Ethan? Is everything alright with you and Andy?" I heard my mother's sweet voice come through finally. _

"_Mom everything is perfect actually. Andy and I just have some fantastic news." I had put our own phone on speaker as well so Andy could join in the conversation we were about to have. _

"_Well, spill the news honey!" Something told me that my parents already knew what I was about to say which kind of took a slight bit away from my excitement but not too much. _

"_Andy is pregnant! You're going to be grandparents!" _

"_Oh! Congratulations! Edward…we're going to be grandparents!" I heard my mother's excited squeal come through and Andy just chuckled to herself. "Andy darling are you there? Congratulations sweetie!" _

"_Thank you mom. I couldn't be more excited!" _

"_Well, loves as much as we would love and stay up and chat baby with you, your father just got off of a rather long shift and he needs his rest."_

"_Congratulations Ethan and Andy…we're so excited!" My father's deep voice returned. "We will talk to you both later! We love you!" We said our goodbyes and finally hung up the phone. _

"_We're going to be parents." I said, "We're going to have a baby!" _

_End Flashback _

"Ethan?"

"Mom? Dad?" I didn't know you were flying in! I would've arranged for a car to pick you up!" I was careful not to raise my voice too much because of the sleeping baby cradled in my arms.

"Well, we wanted to be here for the birth of our first grandchild! After you called us to let us know Andy was in labor we booked the first flight out of JFK. Now let me see my beautiful grand daughter!" My mother exclaimed as she took the sleeping baby from my arms. "Oh you are just so beautiful!" She whispered. "What's her name?"

"Emmalyn Grace Cullen"

"That's beautiful son." My father finally spoke up as he gazed down with pride filled eyes on the newest member of the family.

"Have you called your Auntie Alice and Aunt Rose and your uncles?"

"Not yet, I haven't really had a break until now."

"Well, I can take care of calling your aunts and uncles but I think you should be the one to phone your siblings and let them know they have a niece."

"I will do that mom, I'll get right on it I promise. Do you know if Amber is back from her trip yet?"

"I believe she is son."

"You know your Auntie Alice is going to be so upset that she wasn't here to support you and cover your baby in all the latest high fashions."

"I think Andy would've killed someone during labor if Aunt Alice was anywhere near her. Even though she's not as wild and crazy as she was she's still pretty…obnoxious?"

"OBNOXIOUS!? Ethan Charlie Cullen! How dare you call me obnoxious!" I whirled around to the screech of my crazy aunt who was lugging behind her one very timid looking Uncle Jasper.

"How did you know?"

"I'm your Aunt Alice, I just know things." She came to a stop in front of me and gasped when she saw the pink baby being cradled in my father's arms. "Is this my grand-niece? Is that even right? Oh who cares…let me see her Edward!" I watched as my father turned his back away from Alice and moved to shield my daughter. "Stop hogging the damn baby Edward!" She looked like a dog chasing her own tail as she chased my father around in circles.

"I just want to shield her from the chaos that you will bring upon her life. No need for her little ears to be ruined with that shrill voice of yours. And we're going to turn her into as much of a tomboy as possible. No frilly clothes or make up…nothing."

"Heck no, techno! I don't even think so. She'll only be wearing the finest baby dresses money can buy."

"How about we leave the decisions to my wife?" I suggested ending the playful banter between brother and sister.

"I think we can all agree with that." My mother interjected. "Maybe we should all go and check on Andy."

"I'm going to go and put in a quick phone call to the rest of the family." I walked off and pulled out my cell phone quickly dialing the numbers of all my siblings as well as Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose. My siblings most of whom lived within driving distance to me were more than excited to come down to the hospital to greet their new niece. Aunt Rose and Emmett unfortunately lived closer to mom and dad and could not make it out here as quickly. Amber too was also stuck in New York and couldn't come down to see Emmalyn but she promised to come and visit as soon as she could. Jason and his wife also could not come down because of school but promised they would visit as soon as they had some time off.

After I had finished calling everyone including grandma and grandpa in Forks, I made my way back to the room to find some more of my family in the room surrounding the bed where my now awake wife laid. It was nice to see most of the whole family here. I let my thoughts drift back to the hard times my mother and father had when they first met and all of the struggles they had to get to where they are today. I could only hope that Andy and I could live up to their story. They were the two happiest people I knew, aside from grandma and grandpa of course.

"There's my little munchkin!" I saw the glowing frame of the youngest of my siblings with her chocolate brown curls and her doe like eyes. She was almost the spitting image of my mother. For some reason that I couldn't place she seemed to be even happier than normal. I embraced her tightly and kept her close to my side.

"Where's lover boy dear sister?"

"He ran out to get my some water." I noticed her begin to fidget and I knew that she was dying to talk about something but I couldn't figure out what. "He'll be back in a second." I let her fidgeting go and figured that if she wanted talk she'd come to me. Just like Maggie said, Heath walked back into the room carrying two bottles of water and he too had the same glow about him.

"Mom, dad…everyone else." She addressed as she linked hands with Heath who came to stand by her side. "Heath and I have something we want to share with you all." He gave her a loving glance and her face turned into a beaming smile and she seemed as if she was about to burst. "We're ENGAGED!" She held out her left hand to show the massive rock that Heath had picked out for her. A chorus of "congratulations" and screams filled the room as all of the girls immediately formed a circle around Maggie to get all of the details that girls thrive on.

I couldn't have asked for a happier ending to our family. My parents were happily in love and living the lives they've always wanted. There was no suffering, no pain. Its was like we all got our own little happily ever afters. Despite all of the hardship that it took my parents to get to this point today, they were being rewarded ten fold for all of it.

I moved to sit next to my wife and child on the bed and reveled in the feeling of completeness. I had everything I wanted in life and more and I couldn't be happier.

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**A/N: Well guys, we made it! We've seen the very end of this story. I have to say posting this almost bittersweet. I've completely my first fanfiction thanks to all of you readers and all of your support! This story has definitely kept me sane throughout the CRAZY year this has been already. I hope that you have all enjoyed this story and I can't wait until I get the next one started. The ideas are already churning in my mind and I can't wait to get them onto paper so I can deliver another story. **

**Thank you so much for sticking with me to the end you guys are so supportive! Also, for the 200+ reviews I think this story has...WOW that was definitely way more than I was expecting. **

**Also, for the next fanfiction I was thinking of doing Edward and Bella again but with a totally different story line. I'll definitely try something other than Edward and Bella and Twilight sometime I just don't know when and what yet. Please do keep a weathered eye out for new stories and updates. **

**Thank you again and I hope that you enjoyed this last segment of "Will I Ever Love Again." **

**~Jess  
**


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